Hold Tight
by ScandalousDreaming
Summary: Fitz Grant is forced to choose between going to college to play football which could lead him to the NFL or give up everything to be with his pregnant girlfriend Olivia. Fitz chooses the latter. Now four years have passed and Fitz and Olivia are still together taking care of their daughter. Fitz works as an NYPD cop while Olivia is a stay at home mom and college student.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello! This story kind of popped into my head and had been bothering me all morning so I thought I'd give it a shot. I don't know if I'll stick with it yet. I'm going to give it a trial run. Oh and To Heal a Broken Heart and Her Bodyguard should be updated sometime this week. I know I know it's been a while but I'm back now. Anyway I hope you enjoy!**

_**4 Years Ago…**_

"YOU'RE WHAT?!" Big Jerry roared at the two teenagers who flinched at his booming voice and took a step a back.

His face was a deep color of red and his eyes looked like they were about to pop out of his head. There was no word to describe how Big Jerry felt and to say he was furious would be too vague.

"Jerry calm down and let's hear them out." Susan Grant said in a soft and relaxed tone while gently grabbing his left arm.

Big Jerry turned and glared at her.

"Calm down? You want me to calm down and hear them out? What's there left to hear out Sue? They just told us they are expecting and that they are keeping it. How can you be so calm right now?" He asked through clenched teeth.

"Jerry just listen to what they have to say before jumping to any conclusions and acting irrationally please." She said still in the same relaxed tone, but her eyes were giving him a pleading look.

Big Jerry sighed and rolled his eyes, "Fine speak." He spat gesturing for one of them to talk.

Fitz and Olivia looked at each other before Fitz cleared his throat and began speaking.

"As you guys already know Liv is pregnant and we're keeping it. We already came up with a plan…" Fitz paused and took a deep breath before continuing. He knew the next words that were about to come out of his mouth would have his dad going ballistic.

"We decided that I'm not going to go to college right away. I'm-"

"ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR DAMN MIND?!" Big Jerry bellowed not even allowing Fitz to finish what he was going to say.

"I did not invest all my time and money in you for you to not go to college. You practically have every division 1 college trying to bust down our door, wanting you to commit to their school. You have a full ride to any college you want, a deal that is guaranteed to get you in the pros and instead you are going to pass up the greatest opportunity of your life to take care of this little whore and her bastard child. How do you know it's even yours? You know girls her kind are always getting knocked up and claiming that guys like you are the father. Or she probably got pregnant on purpose to trap you. Whichever one it is, it doesn't matter because I refuse to have you destroy your future for that girl." Big Jerry looked at both at Olivia in disgust.

"JERRY!" Susan yelled in disbelief that he would talk about Olivia like that in front of her face.

It wasn't the first time he spoke unkindly about Olivia and often expressed his disliking of her. On more than one occasion he and Fitz got into heated arguments about his relationship with Olivia. Fitz never did understand why his father hated Olivia so much. She was kind, respectful, sweet, encouraging, supportive, and an all-around beautiful person.

His mother was the complete opposite of his father. She was always warm and welcoming to Olivia. They spent a lot of time together and even sat next to one another at Fitz' football games. She had grown to love Olivia like she was her own daughter, especially since Olivia and Fitz had been dating for three years.

Fitz was seething with anger. It was now his turn to be a deep shade of red and his eyes were filled with flames. He was seeing red. He walked forward until he was standing right in front of his father. Fitz had to clench and unclench his fists to refrain from punching Big Jerry in the face. Fitz didn't care if Big Jerry insulted him, but when it came to Olivia he would be damned if he let anyone including his father talk ill of her in front of his face.

Fitz spoke slowly. His voice was cold and venom like.

"First of all you will **NOT** disrespect Olivia and our unborn child. The baby **IS** mine and I** WILL** be there for him or her. You will **NOT** blame Liv for getting pregnant because she is not the only one at fault here. Yes we obviously slept together but **I **chose not to wear a condom and** I** chose not to pull out. I **AM** the father of our baby and I know that for a fact. As for college if you would have let me finished then maybe you would have heard the rest of the plan. I will go to college eventually but not right away. I'm going to get a job and save the money that I earned for the baby and stuff that will be needed to take care of the baby. Then I will get us a place of our own. Once we're settled in and stable financially I will take online college courses and get my law degree that way."

"Law degree? That's what you want to be a lawyer? So let me get this right you are going to throw your once and a lifetime chance to play in the NFL to become a lawyer? Are you crazy or stupid?"

"Neither. I'm being responsible. I'm being a man. I'm going to be father, which means my dreams and aspirations are going to have to be put on hold because Liv and I chose to have unprotected sex and as a result we're having a baby."

Big Jerry laughed and shook his head. "I'm going to go with stupid. In fact I like idiot better. Yeah that's it, you're an idiot."

"And you're a worthless son of a bitch who lives his life through his only son. It's not my fault your chance of going to NFL was taken away when you chose to drive while under the influence and got into an accident which ended in you having a concussion, a few broken ribs, a broken leg, and a broken arm. You made a decision that changed your life forever and so did I. Do not stand there and act as if you're all high and mighty because you were once in my shoes. At least I didn't embarrass myself and my football career will remain squeaky clean." Fitz fired back.

He was not going to stand there and let Big Jerry call him names when he made a mistake many years ago ending his football career and having everyone look down on him.

Big Jerry's facial expression changed from amused to serious and stone cold within seconds.

"Listen boy don't you ever talk to me like that again do you understand me? You may think you're a man because you whipped out that tail between your legs and shoved it in your little whorish girlfriend who can't keep her legs closed but I am still your father and you will respect me."

Fitz scoffed, "You… you think you're my father? No you're my sperm donor. Just because I have your name, DNA, and blood running through my veins doesn't make you my father. You have never been a father to me and you never even made an attempt to act like one. You use me for your own personal goals by controlling me. You're the puppet master and I'm the puppeteer instead of your son right?"

"That's right. You should be thanking me. If it weren't for me you would be walking around in a dress and heels. You use to cry over the littlest things like when you got your feelings hurt. I had to teach you to man up but apparently all that hard work still hasn't pay off."

Big Jerry added in that last part as a kick in the stomach to Fitz as he looked into his tear filled eyes.

"Look at you… once a pussy always a pussy. And what's worse is that not only are you a pussy but you're also pussy whipped. When she says move, you move. When she says crawl, you crawl. When she says jump, you ask how high. You are weak pathetic loser that will never amount to anything. You are nothing and will always mean nothing. Your little sister has more balls than you. The only manly thing you have ever done in your entire existence was knock that girl up."

Fitz lowered his head and nodded accepting everything Big Jerry had said to him. He brought his head back up and resumed looking Big Jerry square in the eyes.

"I don't care what you think of me. I'm so immune to this treatment by you that I just started accepting it and taking all your words with a grain of salt. Ok so what I'm a sensitive guy big deal. I have feelings and I care about things beyond words. I love things with all the passion and fire that burns within me. You can call me a pussy for that but I'll always be a bigger and better man than you because I'm not afraid to admit any of that. I like who I am, hell I love who I am and I'm proud of who I am. I don't want to be you or anything like you because you're a selfish miserable bastard and I don't want to be anything close to that. Olivia and I are having this baby and we will go through with our plan. The plan that we** BOTH** came up with **TOGETHER**."

"Then I will disown you. You want to have your bastard child with your whore fine but you will no longer be a part of this family. You will never be welcomed here again if you leave here tonight with her."

"Jerry." Susan gasped.

"Shut up Sue. He thinks he's a man then he will be treated like one. I'm giving you one chance, one offer and that's it. You can break up with that girl right now and I'll pay for her to have an abortion or she can keep the baby as long as you're nowhere near it. Or you can pack up your shit and leave with that girl. You will be disowned. Everything that you leave behind will be destroyed and burned. You will be cut out of pictures. It will be as if you never even existed. It's your choice, you decide." Big Jerry challenged.

He had a smug look on his face because he knew his son and he knew that he would be too much of a wimp to give up everything his family, his future, his life as he knows it for some girl. After a while Big Jerry became a little nervous when Fitz stared at him with a blank expression on his face. The room was completely silent except for the sound of light breathing coming from everyone in the room. Fitz finally peeled his eyes away from Big Jerry and turned around to face Olivia.

He walked over to her and brought a hand to her face cupping her cheek. He smiled softly at her as he gently stroked her cheek. Olivia smiled back at him. He leaned down and softly kissed her lips. The kiss was light and brief. Fitz then engulfed her in a warm hug and whispered in her ear that he loved her. He reluctantly pulled away from her and turned around. He walked passed Big Jerry who had a confused look on his face and exited the room.

He walked up the stairs and went to his bedroom. Olivia's eyes immediately filled up with tears that wasted no time running down her cheeks as she watched the love of her life, the father of her baby cower away and leave her on her own. Olivia looked at Big Jerry who had a victorious smile on his face. She didn't even bother to hide the fact that she was crying and her heart broke with each passing minute.

"Well honey Fitzgerald made his decision. If you want an abortion you let me know and I will pay for it. Other than that there is no reason for you to be associated with my family. In fact I don't want you to contact anyone in my family especially my son. You will stay away from him. Now it's pretty late you should be get going home." Big Jerry said in his faux sweetest voice.

"Jerry!"

"What Sue? It's late and I'm sure her mother is worried about her. Besides I think its best she leaves now anyway."

Olivia ignored Big Jerry and stared at the stairs wishing Fitz would come down them. After about a minute of staring at the empty staircase and still no sign of Fitz, Olivia collected her sweater and purse from a nearby a couch and walked to the front door. She was about to walk out the door when she heard heavy footsteps coming down the stairs. She turned and looked up to see Fitz coming into view with two full packed suitcases in his hands.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Big Jerry asked. His voice was mixed with shock and anger.

Fitz ignored and walked passed him. He walked to where his mother was standing and hugged her with everything he had. When they pulled apart he gave her a hug and wiped the tears that were streaming down her face with the pads of his thumbs. It broke his heart to see his mother like that especially since he was the reason behind it.

He gave her a weak smile, "I love you mom."

"Fitz please don't go, don't do this I love you so much." She sobbed as she pulled him into another hug.

Fitz wrapped her up in a bear hug and held her until her sobbing became whimpers. He pulled back a little to look in her eyes.

"I have to go. I have to do what's right for Liv and the baby. Just know that I love you and I will always love you no matter what."

Fitz gently removed his mother's arms from around his waist and bent down to pick up his suitcases. He walked over to Olivia and gave her a reassuring smile. They were about to walk out the door when Big Jerry's icy voice stopped them in their tracks.

"Remember if you walk out that door don't bother coming back. You will no longer be a part of this family and are forbidden to talk to any of us. Also if I ever see you anywhere near this house I will shoot you myself and I always shoot to kill."

"Well I guess this means you won't have a son anymore because I'm leaving with Olivia and our baby she's carrying." Fitz stated matter-of-factly.

Fitz opened the front door and held it open for Olivia allowing her to walk through it first.

"Jerry please don't do this. Don't let him leave. Go after him and apologize just don't let my baby boy leave." Susan sobbed and pleaded. She was on both of her knees in front of him holding onto his leg.

He kicked her off of him. "Have some damn dignity woman. Get your ass up off the floor now." He demanded. "The boy made a choice. He chose to leave with his whore and ruin his life. I will not be a part of his failed future and neither will you." He said walking away from his wife who remained in the same spot she had been sobbing for loss of her son.

Olivia and Fitz were halfway down the driveway, but stopped when they heard a voice calling Fitz' name. They turned around and was greeted by Fitz' 11 year old sister.

"Kayla what's wrong and what are you still doing up? Why are you out here? I already said goodbye to you." Fitz said gently as he squatted down so they were eye level with each other.

"I know but I wanted to give you something special so you will always remember me." She responded sweetly.

"Oh yeah? Can I tell you something?" Kayla nodded her head yes.

"You are my something special kiddo."

He tapped the tip of her nose which always caused her to laugh. Fitz loved seeing his little sister smile and listening to her laugh. Kayla meant everything to Fitz and vice versa. It was killing him inside to leave her behind, but he had to be strong for her and to do right by Olivia and their unborn child.

When she stopped laughing, Kayla told Fitz to close his eyes and open his hand. He did what she asked and she carefully placed the object in his hand and pushed his hand into a fist. Kayla then told Fitz to open his eyes and his hand. He looked down to see a heart shaped necklace locket in his hand. Fitz opened the locket and found a picture of Kayla in it.

"Awe Kay this is beautiful. Thank you so much."

Fitz pulled her into a hug and held on for dear life. He didn't want to let go, but knew that it was getting late and he did not want her getting in trouble by Big Jerry, so Fitz reluctantly let go and stood up.

"Don't lose that Fitz please. Pinky promise you'll keep that forever." Kayla held up her pinky finger causing Fitz and Olivia to chuckle.

Fitz grabbed her pinky finger with his much larger one. "I promise I'll keep it forever. I'll always cherish it."

Kayla smiled and nodded. She gave Fitz another hug and Olivia a hug before she sprinted up the driveway and entered the house. Fitz watched until Kayla was safely inside and let his eyes take in the only home he had ever known one last time. The sound of Olivia's voice pulled him out of his daze and he turned his attention to her.

"I'm sorry what did you say Livvie?"

"I asked if you were alright." She said softly.

Olivia felt bad and guilty for everything. She felt as if the whole situation was her fault.

"Honestly I don't know. There are some many emotions going through me right now that I- I just don't know how answer that at this very moment."

"Fitz go back in there. I feel absolutely terrible for what happened tonight. It's all my fault. I'm so sorry Fitz you need to go talk to your dad. Actually I'll do it instead. Maybe I could change his mind or at least fix some of our problems. I can't allow you to walk away from your family."

Olivia continued rambling as she walked up the driveway and away from a confused Fitz. Once Fitz let her words sink in, he ran to catch up with her. He stepped in front of her and grabbed her shoulders stopping her movements.

"Whoa Livvie stop right there. None of what's going on right now is your fault. If there's anyone to blame in all this mess it's Big Jerry. He is the one who is acting like a complete asshole. He never did approve of our relationship and this was bound to happen anyway. What's done is done and it's too late to take any of it back."

Olivia shook her head. "No Big Jerry was right. Fitz you worked too hard to just give everything up. It's not fair that you have to sacrifice everything for me. Maybe having this baby isn't such a good idea. Maybe we should forget about our plan and let things go back to normal."

Fitz was starting to get angry. He hated that Olivia was second guessing their plan and was actually considering getting rid of their baby.

"Liv I love you, I'm in love with, you're the love of my life, and I love our baby so terminating it is not an option." He said sternly. "Playing football isn't everything. There's more to life than playing football. I don't care about possibly going pro and I'm not guaranteed to play in the NFL. I don't care about the things that come with being a pro athlete because none of the fame and fortune will ever come close to love I have for you. Liv I love you so much that it hurts and I'm willing to go through hell and high water to be with you. I choose you. I choose us. I love you." Fitz' voice cracked as he professed his love for her.

Olivia wrapped her arms around Fitz' neck and leaned up on her tip toes to kiss him on the lips.

"Fitz I love you too so very much and I'm sorry for bringing up the idea of getting rid of our baby. It's just I hate the fact that you're giving it all up for me and I have nothing to give you in return." Olivia lowered her head in shame.

Fitz gently grabbed her chin and raised her head so they were looking in each other's eyes.

"Hey hey don't do that, don't hide from me Livvie. We're all each other have now. What you just said isn't true. I'm not giving much up except for my family; the other stuff doesn't mean shit to me. And you are giving me something. You're giving me your love, your heart, and in nine months the greatest gift I could ever ask for… our baby. So don't think you're not doing anything for me because you are."

Fitz bent his head down and placed another kiss on Olivia's lips while resting a hand on her stomach. Olivia was the first to break the kiss and her body stiffened as panic began to fill it when another thought came in mind. Fitz immediately felt her stiffen up in his arms and he asked her what was wrong. She didn't answer instead she stepped out of his embrace and turned her back to him.

"Livvie please tell me what's wrong." Fitz softly pleaded.

"Fitz I ca- what if you end up blaming me years from now." She turned around finally having enough courage to look him in the eye. "What if we broke up or things weren't going good between us and you end up blaming me for your missed opportunity. I couldn't live with myself if you were to live in a life full of regret and end up blaming me for it. That's how Big Jerry is living and I don't want you to end up like him. I don't want you to say should've, could've and would've but didn't because of me."

"Livvie come here." She walked back to where Fitz was standing and allowed him to hold her in his arms. She rested her head on his chest and he kissed the top of her head. "Listen to me no matter what happens, I mean no matter what I will never blame you because I chose to be with you. I could have taken the easy way out and be a coward, but I'm choosing to be a man and take on full responsibility of my duties. I will not regret my decision because I'm doing the right thing. The same thing my heart told me to do."

"Fitz promise you'll never blame me." Olivia said looking up at him with desperate look on her face. She needed to hear him say the words out loud.

Fitz looked down at her and smiled. "I promise."

Olivia nodded and snuggled her head back into his chest. After a while they pulled apart and walked hand in hand back down the driveway. Fitz bent down and picked up his two suitcases. Even though Fitz had a car, he refused to take it with them. He knew that Big Jerry would probably have it repossessed and he honestly didn't want the car that his dick of a father gave to him, so he and Olivia opted to walk to their next destination.

Once Fitz found a comfortable way to hold both his suitcases on one side, he wrapped his free arm around Olivia's shoulders and they began walking into the cool night.

"Fitz where are we going to go?" Olivia asked after about 5 minutes had passed.

"Honestly I don't know Livvie but what I do know is that wherever we go, we'll always have each other and we'll always be together."

**Author's Note: So what'd ya think? Let me know if I should continue or not. I hope you enjoyed! **


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks for all the encouragement and I will be continuing this story as you can see here's chapter 2. I only decided to continue because most of you said please… jk lol. But seriously I do appreciate all the reviews you guys left and your support keeps me going. I hope you enjoy!**

_**Present Day…**_

Olivia sits at the kitchen table eating breakfast with her almost 3 year old daughter Arielle Jecelyn Grant. She intently listens to her daughter babble on about her favorite Disney Junior TV show, Sofia the First while eating her cereal. Olivia smiles at the animated way Arielle describes the adventures Sofia go on.

"Mommy I want to be a princess like Sofia." Arielle announces while shoveling a spoon full of fruit loops in her mouth.

"You are already a princess. You're daddy and I's little princess. Princess Arielle like from The Little Mermaid." Olivia replies sweetly.

"No I don't want to be a mermaid princess silly; I want to be a regular princess like Sofia and Anna."

"Ok Tater Tot if you want to be a princess like Sofia and Anna, then you can be. You are officially Princess Arielle of Staten Island." Olivia proudly states.

"Yay!" Arielle yells with excitement.

"Wait mommy if I'm a princess that makes you a queen and daddy a king right?"

"That's right sweetheart."

"Can we move into a castle?"

Olivia chuckles at her daughter, "Uh I don't know baby. You have to ask daddy that. Speaking of daddy… why isn't he up yet, he's going to be late for work." She says to no one in particular.

As soon as the words leave her mouth, she hears his heavy footsteps walking around rather quickly upstairs.

"I guess daddy's up." She says still listening to his loud movements coming from upstairs.

Olivia listens as he makes his way to the stairs and walks down them. Moments later Fitz is standing in the kitchen in only his work pants and shoes. His top half is bare except for the large tattoo of a cross that covers the left side of his chest.

"Liv have you seen my shirt? I can't find it anywhere." He asks in his deep baritone voice.

Olivia ignores him and lets her eyes roam his naked upper body as she unconsciously licks her lips. Her eyes begin at his broad shoulders traveling down do his big strong chest and finally to his chiseled abs. Olivia has always appreciated Fitz' body, but he has definitely gotten more muscular and cut from when he was a teenager to now. Images of last night pops into her head as she thinks about the way Fitz' stomach contracted every time he thrusts. Fitz smirks once he realizes Olivia checking him out and purposely flexes his pecks.

"Daddy!" Arielle screams as she gets down from here chair at the kitchen table and runs to where he is standing, in the process bringing Olivia out of her daze.

Fitz bends down and scoops his little girl in his arms.

"Good morning my little cinnamon swirl." Fitz says as he peppers her face with a bunch of kisses.

"Good morning daddy and I'm not you're little cinnamon swirl anymore, I'm your little princess." She states matter-of-factly.

Olivia laughs at Fitz' confused expression which he quickly shrugs off.

"Oh so you're a princess now?"

"Yeah mommy said so."

"Yeah I told her she is now the princess of Staten Island." Olivia says joining in on their conversation.

"Ah I see. Ok well Princess Arielle of Staten Island how may I be at your service?" Fitz asks in his best English accent impersonating a butler, making both his girls giggle.

"Daddy can we move into a castle?"

Fitz raises an eyebrow at his daughter's question when he realizes she's serious.

"Why do you want to move into a castle, don't you like our home here?" He asks amused.

"Yes but we have to live in a castle because I'm a princess, you're a king, and mommy's a queen. Just like Sofia the First and every other Disney princess."

"I'll tell you what, give me some time to think about and I'll let you know ok."

"Ok daddy." She gives Fitz a kiss on the cheek and squirms out of his arms.

"Where do you think you're going little girl? Come back here and finish your breakfast." Olivia says to her daughter as she is about to walk out the kitchen.

"Mommy I'm full. Can I watch Disney now?" Arielle asks.

"No I want you to eat a little more before you watch TV ok."

"But I don't want to. I'm full." Arielle whines.

"Arielle Jecelyn Grant I'm not asking you, I'm telling you to get back over here a finish your breakfast." Olivia says sternly.

Arielle pouts and stomps back over to the table. She climbs back in her chair and folds her arms across her chest, still pouting.

Olivia sighs and looks at her now upset daughter refusing to eat.

"You know the longer you sit here and refuse to eat your cereal the less time you have to watch TV."

When Arielle doesn't answer, Olivia looks at Fitz for back up but he just shrugs and looks at his watch.

He gives her an apologetic look and says, "I'm sorry Liv but I really need to get going and I still haven't found my shirt yet."

"I know. Which shirt are you looking for?" She asks getting up from the table and walking out of the kitchen. Fitz follows her.

"The long sleeve one. Have you seen it?" He asks following her into the laundry room.

"Yeah here you go." She says handing him his shirt. "I did a load of laundry last night but I was too tired to take the clothes out and fold them. I'm sorry babe."

"It's fine. I'm just thankful I have a clean shirt to wear." Fitz replies while putting on his shirt and buttoning it up.

Once Fitz finishes buttoning his shirt, he gives Olivia a quick kiss before heading back upstairs to finish getting ready. About 10 minutes later, Fitz joins Olivia and Arielle in the kitchen again, this time he is dressed in his full uniform. He walks over to the coffee maker and pours some in his to go cup.

"You're not having breakfast this morning?" Olivia asks.

"No I don't have enough time. I'm already behind schedule and I need to leave now." He replies while picking up his to go coffee cup and a banana.

Fitz walks out of the kitchen and grabs his phone, wallet, badge, and keys that were on the hallway's table and quickly made his way to the front door with Olivia and Arielle right behind him.

"Ok I love you. Please be safe, try not to get shot, and come back home unharmed." Olivia says and passionately kisses Fitz as if it is her last time seeing him.

"I love you too and I'll try my best to stay safe."

Fitz turns to Arielle who is in her mother's arms, but is clearly still a bit upset from earlier. He brings his hand up to her caramel colored cheek and lightly strokes it with the back of his fingers. She immediately brightens up at his soft touch and smiles at him.

"I have to go now princess. I love you and want you to be good for mommy." He says sweetly.

"Ok daddy. I love you too." Fitz smiles at her and turns to walk out the door, but is stopped by Arielle.

"Wait daddy! You didn't give me a kiss goodbye." She says giving him a sad look.

"Awe princess I'm sorry. Come here."

Arielle reaches her arms out as Fitz takes her from her mother. He puckers his lips indicating that he wants her to give him a kiss. She grabs both sides of his face with her pudgy little hands and leans in to kiss his awaiting lips.

"Mmm muah." She says pulling away from his lips.

"Better?" Fitz asks as he hands her back to Olivia.

"Yes." She replies with a smile.

"Good. Alright bye my loves I'll be home later." Fitz says as he walks out the door.

Olivia and Arielle stand in the doorway and watch as Fitz walks to his car and drives away, but not without waving to them first.

* * *

"Grant! You're 20 minutes late." Captain Beene states as soon as Fitz sits down at his desk.

"Yeah I know. I'm sorry Captain it won't happen again." Fitz replies.

"It better not." Captain Beene says walking away.

Fitz laughs when he hears the Captain mutter, "it's a good thing I like you or else…"

"Hey Fitz, what has you so late this morning?" Fitz' partner and longtime best friend Stephen Finch asks from his desk across from Fitz'.

Fitz and Stephen had been best friends ever since they were little kids. Stephen like Fitz played football, but not the American kind. Either way they both cheered each other on and went to all of each other's games. Stephen also ended up knocking his then girlfriend now wife and Olivia's best friend, Abby up a couple of months before Olivia had gotten pregnant. Fitz and Stephen had always been close, but after impregnating both of their girlfriends around the same time brought them closer.

Stephen knew everything that went down between Fitz and his father 4 years ago and the major sacrifice Fitz made for Olivia and his daughter. Stephen was there for Fitz through that hard time in his life and helped him get back on his feet. When Fitz told him that he decided to become a cop, Stephen thought it was a good idea and joined him. Now here they were 4 years later and still the best of friends and partners.

Fitz shakes his head, "It's not what, it's who." He corrects.

"Liv?"

"Yeah."

"Early morning?"

"Late night."

"Really?" Stephen asks wanting Fitz to go into more details.

"Yeah I overslept this morning but you would too if you only got 3 hours of sleep." Fitz sighs.

"You guys did it that long?! No way… How?!" Stephen asks in disbelief.

"I honestly can't tell you how. After the 3rd round I was ready to throw in the towel but Liv had all this energy and wanted to keep going. "

"How long has it been since you guys had sex?"

"Stephen, we have sex almost every night or at least every other night and Liv is the one who usually initiates it. I don't know what's gotten into her lately. I used to be the aggressive one when it came to sex. I mean before she got pregnant, she was afraid to even touch me and now she can't keep her hands off of me. You know this morning I caught her checking me out."

Stephen scoffs, "Come on man you act like that's a bad thing. I would be thrilled if I was in your shoes. You should be lucky at least Liv doesn't make you beg for sex like Abby does to me. Liv acts like what Abby used to and Abby acts like what Liv used to when it comes to sex. I mean Abby is still that confident, loud mouth, no nonsense girl that I fell in love with but in the bedroom it's a different story. Literally my sex life is the complete opposite of yours. Before Abby got pregnant, she would jump my bones every chance she got. After we had Zachary, Abby did an absolute 180. You would think that me being a cop and all would have her treating me as if every day is my last but nooo, I spend most of my nights staring at her back while you and Liv go at it like the horny teenagers you once were."

Fitz listens to his friend rant and compare their sex lives and can't help but laugh. He's secretly happy he's getting some regularly unlike Stephen.

"Do you blame Abby though? You have to remember that she was 18 when she had Zach and she's how old now 21, 22? Do you honestly think she wants to have another baby anytime soon even though you guys are married?" Fitz asks trying to make Stephen see things from Abby's point of view.

"You have a point but what about Liv? She was 18 too when she had Ari and I'm pretty sure that she doesn't want to have another baby anytime soon either but that's not stopping her from giving up the goods." Stephen counters back.

"Well maybe you're just not as good as you used to be or Abby's gotten bored having sex with you." Fitz spits out.

Stephen's eyes grow wide and jaw drops at his friend's accusation.

"That is not the case because when Abby and I do have sex, I have her speaking another language." Stephen says defensively.

Fitz laughs and holds up his hands in surrender, "Ok ok I'm sorry. Relax. It was just a thought."

"Yeah well that was a sucky thought. Anyway when are you going to make an honest woman out of Liv hmm? When are you going to put a ring on her finger?"

Fitz rolls his eyes at Stephen's question.

"Man how many times do I have to explain this to you? Liv and I are not getting married anytime soon. It's going to be a while before I propose to her."

"Why are you so afraid to marry Liv? You live together, have a child, and share a banking account. You guys are practically a married couple now. Why not make it official?"

"Because I'm not ready to take that step yet. I'm only 22 years old and I don't want to rush into marriage because Liv and I have a daughter together. I want to wait for the right time and now is not the right time." He says firmly.

Fitz looks at the picture on his desk of just Olivia. She was wearing an all-white spring dress and had a white flower in her hair, smiling at the camera. Fitz smiles at the picture, remembering the day he took it and how beautiful she looked.

"When will be the right time Fitz? Stephen asks bringing Fitz out of his thoughts. "Because every time I mention the word marriage to you, you stiffened up and immediately dismiss the idea like marrying Liv is the worst thing in the world."

"Look I do plan on marrying Liv ok but just not now so can you drop it." Fitz asks slightly annoyed by Stephen constantly getting on him about marrying Olivia. Like what's the rush?

"Fine." Stephen replies not bothering to look at Fitz and opens a folder on his desk.

Fitz feels bad about snapping at his friend, but he is sick and tired of Stephen trying to force him to do something he knows he isn't ready to do yet. He stares at Stephen and can't tell if he's upset or mad or both. He wants to apologize, but hesitates and ends up forgetting about it and getting back work, going through and filling out the paperwork on his desk. The day is pretty slow for them which is odd given that they work in New York City.

At about noon, they decide to go on their lunch break. Fitz asks Stephen if he wants to ride with him and Stephen nods his head barely acknowledging him. They walk out of the police department in silence and over to where Fitz' car is parked. They get in the car with Fitz in the driver's seat and Stephen in the passenger seat. Fitz having enough of the silent treatment from Stephen decides to put his pride aside and apologize. He turns off the engine and faces Stephen.

"Listen man I'm sorry about snapping at you earlier. I was just frustrated. My relationship with Liv may seem easy and simple but it's much more complex than what we lead on. You're right a part of me is afraid of marrying Liv and another part of me wants to marry her more than anything in the world but not right this second." Fitz says sincerely.

"I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have brought up and pressed on a topic I knew you felt uneasy talking about." Stephen apologizes too.

"So we're good?" Fitz asks holding out his hand.

Stephen grabs his hand and shakes it, "Of course. Is that even a question." Stephen says while jokingly holding a hand to his chest appalled that Fitz would question their friendship.

Fitz laughs and shakes his head, "I was just making sure."

He turns the key in the ignition and starts the car back up again. Fitz pulls out of the parking lot and drives a few blocks until he reaches the pizzeria that he and Stephen eat at maybe once or twice a week. He pulls up to the curb and parks his car right outside the building. They walk into pizza place and order their usuals. Fitz orders 2 slices of plain cheese pizza and a bottle of water while Stephen orders a meatball sub with a Pepsi. After a couple of minutes both their meals are served. They find an empty booth by the window and sit down in it across from each other.

"Are you on duty tomorrow?" Fitz asks Stephen before taking a bite out of his first slice of pizza.

"No I promised Zach and Abby that we would go to the Bronx Zoo tomorrow. How about you?" Stephen asks as he takes a large bite out of his sub.

"I'm not working either. I don't know what I'm going to do tomorrow. I'll probably catch up on my much needed beauty sleep."

"Yeah that's probably a good idea because I am tired of looking at that ugly zombie like face of yours. I didn't want to say anything but since you brought it up I figured I'd add in my 2 cents." Stephen teases wiping his tomato sauce covered mouth.

"Gee thanks. Always giving it to me straight."

"That's what I'm here for."

The two men continue talking while finishing up their lunch. Since Fitz and Stephen have 20 minutes left to spare before they have to return back to the department, they opt to spend the rest of their break at the pizza place. Fitz stares out the window while listening to Stephen drone on about how much the Knicks are going to suck this year. He barely pays attention and nods his head in agreement at the right times. Still staring out the window, Fitz spots a familiar face walk by.

Fitz tells Stephen to hold his thought and excuses himself from their table. He quickly exits the pizza shop and looks around for the person.

"JAKE!" Fitz calls out once he spots the teenage boy on the busy sidewalk.

Jake turns around when he hears his name being called. He immediately spots Fitz and inwardly groans. He reluctantly walks over to where Fitz was standing.

"Hey Officer Grant. What's going on?" The teenage boy greets Fitz with the best smile he can muster up.

"I don't know Jake you tell me. Why aren't you in school?" Fitz asks getting straight to the point.

Jake shrugs, "Because I didn't feel like going today."

"You know I went to your school the other day and your teachers told me that you haven't been to any of their classes in 2 weeks. Is that true?"

"Why are you asking me a question you already know the answer to?" Jake questions with an attitude.

"Because I want you to tell me." Fitz fires back.

Jack sighs and nods his head.

"Why?"

"I don't know." He lies hoping to be done with the conversation.

Fitz isn't letting him off the hook that easily.

"Is it because you're getting bullied?"

Jake doesn't say anything, but Fitz already knows that's it. He lowers his head in embarrassment and stares at the ground. Fitz puts a hand on shoulder as a sign for his condolences.

"Jake have you been ditching school because you're getting bullied?" Fitz asks again.

Jake finally nods. He looks up at Fitz and tears start to fall from his eyes. Fitz gives him a sympathetic look.

"Listen to me being bullied is definitely a hard thing to deal with but skipping school is not the way to solve the problem." Fitz says.

Jake smacks Fitz' hand from his shoulder, "How would you know? You don't know what it's like being me. You don't know how hard my life is. You don't know what it's like to go to school and get the shit beat out of you because you're different. You don't know what it's like to be made fun of because of how you look and dress or because of who your parents are. You don't know what it's like to be treated like an outcast. You have no idea what I'm going through." Jake sobs.

Fitz watches the boy shake uncontrollably from the mixture between his sadness and anger. All of the emotions that Jake has held in were coming out. Fitz without thought pulls Jake into a hug and allows for him to sob into his chest. He whispers encouraging and positive words in the boy's ear. After a couple of minutes Jake settles down and Fitz pulls back to look at him.

"If you need anything don't hesitate to call me alright. And I will be talking to the school principal and your teachers informing them of the bullying. If things get too far out of hand and no one at the school is doing anything about it, you let me know and I'll handle it myself. But you cannot keep skipping school. You have a bright future ahead of you you're a smart kid, don't let other people discourage you and tear you down. Do you understand me?"

Jake sniffles and nods his head, "Yes sir."

"Good now get out of here." Fitz says with a smile. He playfully shoves the boy in the other direction.

Fitz watches Jake walk away until he can't see him anymore and walks back into the pizzeria, sitting down in his spot in the booth across from Stephen who looks at him with a weird look on his face.

"What?" Fitz asks.

Stephen doesn't answer right away. He continues to stare at Fitz with a funny look on his face.

"What was that? Who was that kid?" Stephen finally asks after some time has passed.

"His name's Jake Ballard. You remember the kid whose dad is serving a life sentence for murdering a family and his mom overdosed on drugs about a year ago. Now he lives in a foster home."

"Oh yeah. Poor kid, he's really had it rough." Stephen shakes his head at the life Jake is forced to live because his dad is a criminal and his mom was a drug addict.

"Yeah and to make matters worse he hasn't been attending school because he's getting bullied." Fitz states.

"That kid's life is a living hell."

"You could say that again." Fitz agrees.

They sit in silence for a few minutes before Stephen breaks it, remembering he forgot to tell Fitz something. He slams his hand on the table, startling Fitz who is staring out the window and causing a few people who were sitting near them to glare at him. He quickly apologizes to them before turning back to Fitz.

"What the hell was that?" Fitz asks harshly and confused.

"I forgot to tell you… guess who I saw the other day." Stephen says ignoring Fitz' harsh tone.

"I don't know who?" Fitz replies not wanting to play the guessing game.

"Kayla."

All the blood drains from Fitz' face as he hears Stephen say his sister's name. It has been 4 years since the last time Fitz had seen or spoken to her and to hear her name feels somewhat foreign to him.

"You saw Kayla? Where at? How is she? What does she look like now? Who was she with? Was it a boy? I'll kill him." Fitz starts rambling and firing out a ton of questions.

Stephen laughs at Fitz who's in big brother mode at this moment. He holds up a hand to stop Fitz from talking. "Whoa whoa whoa slow down, one question at a time."

"Sorry. So where did you see her?"

"I was in Queens the other day visiting my parents. As I was stopped at a red light, I saw her and a few of her **female** friends walking across the street. At first I didn't recognize her, but when she smiled I instantly knew who she was. Fitz she has your my smile man. She looks exactly like you, it's really creepy." Stephen's body shutters thinking about how much Fitz and Kayla look alike.

"I actually took a picture of her that I totally forgot about." Stephen says while digging in his pocket and pulling out his phone.

He scrolls through his camera roll until he finds the picture of Kayla. He hands Fitz the phone. Fitz takes it and looks at the picture. He lights up when he spots the girl that looks exactly like him only in a feminine way. His eyes begin to fill with tears as he studies the picture. After a few minutes Fitz hands Stephen his phone back when looking at it becomes too much.

Fitz flashes him a smile which Stephen can easily see doesn't reach his eyes. He looks into a distance as he begins speaking.

"Wow I can't believe it. It's been so long since I last seen her… or my mom. 4 years have passed since I left home and left them. It's funny how fast time flies. She looks so grown up and mature. I remember when she was just a little girl missing her 2 front teeth and now she's blossomed into this beautiful young woman that I missed out on getting know." He says with a hint of sadness and regret in his voice.

"Fitz you should go visit them." Stephen suggests. This grabs Fitz' attention.

"Visit them? I don't know. I don't think that's such a good idea. It's been 4 years and I- I just… I can't." Fitz sadly sighs.

Stephen rolls his eyes, not to be an insensitive jerk, but because he is irritated.

"Why not because Big Jerry threatened to shoot you if you ever went back there and you're afraid of him?" Stephen challenges.

"I am not scared of Big Jerry. I just don't want to deal with him. I might have had to give up my family, but it was worth it because now I have a family of my own and I don't ever have to be bothered by the son of bitch again."

"I understand what you're saying but I really think that you should visit them. Give it a try. Wait until Big Jerry is gone and then visit Susan and Kayla. Or call the house and talk to them over the phone. I don't know just do something to get in contact with them because if you don't you're going to regret it down the road. Like you said only 4 years went by, that's better than 20. And don't just do it for you, do it for your daughter. Let her get to meet and know her grandma and aunt. Allow them to form some kind of bond or relationship. Be a man and bring your family together." Stephen says with so much emotion.

It bothers him to no end to see Fitz who he considers more of a brother than best friend to constantly to put his feelings and desires on hold for everyone else. Fitz looks at Stephen with appreciation and nods his head in understanding. Pretty soon their lunch break ends and they head back to the police department. The rest of the day flies by and before Fitz knows it he's already entering his home. As soon as he walks through the door, Arielle is in front of him requesting that he pick her up and play with her.

The entire night Fitz is on autopilot as he replays his conversation with Stephen over and over again in his head. Fitz plays dolls with Arielle and listens to her tell him about her day. He then changes and washes up for dinner. At the dinner table he is quieter than usual and only speaks when he is spoken to. Olivia notices he isn't really paying them too much attention and is acting different. She knows something's definitely bothering him. After dinner when they are washing the dishes together, she asks him what's wrong. He lies and says that he had a long and stressful day at work and that he is tired.

Olivia seems to have accepted his answer because she doesn't question him any further. Once they finish washing the dishes. Fitz tucks Arielle in bed and reads her a story. His deep soothing voice immediately lullabies her to sleep and he gives her a light kiss on the forehead before leaving her room. He wastes no time walking to his and Olivia's bedroom where she is already sleeping. He is thankful that she is asleep because he is in no mood to have sex especially since his mom and sister were currently on his brain.

The next morning Fitz wakes up earlier than usually which is probably because he didn't get much sleep last night. Fitz tossed and turned all night long still going over his conversation with Stephen. After realizing that there is no way his body is going to let him fall back asleep, he decides to stop fighting it and gets up. Fitz carefully detaches himself from Olivia and quietly leaves their bedroom. He walks across the hall to the bathroom, where he relieves himself, takes a shower, brushes his teeth, and shaves.

He silently enters his bedroom and gets dressed in his casual clothes. When he finishes he writes a note saying that he has a few errands to run and he'll be back later. He places the note on his pillow and gives Olivia a kiss on the cheek before making his way out of their bedroom once again. He walks down the hall to Arielle's bedroom and checks on her. He smiles at her tiny body curled up next to her favorite stuffed animal, a large panda bear named Chet.

Fitz gently closes her door and makes his way downstairs where he makes himself a quick breakfast and a cup of coffee. He grabs his phone, wallet, badge, and keys off of the hallway table. He exits his home making sure the security system was on and walks to his car. Instead of taking his police car, he chooses to drive his all black BMW X6 since he was off. He makes what is usually an hour drive from Staten Island to Queens in about a half an hour. Fitz turns down a street that used to be so familiar to him.

He stops in front of a house, the same house he used to call home. He sees a familiar car in the driveway and wants to so badly bust each window out of it and set it on fire. Fitz shakes that thought out of his head and continues to driving. He stops at the end of the street and parks his car so that it is facing his old home. He sits and stares the house for about an hour before the front door opens and the devil himself walks out of it.

He watches as Big Jerry gets in his car and pulls out of the driveway. Fitz waits for a couple of minutes after Big Jerry leaves in case he forgets something and comes back. When there is no sign of him coming back, Fitz opens his glove compartment and pulls out his Glock 26. He makes sure the gun is loaded and gets out of his car. He sticks the gun in the back waistband of his pants and pulls his shirt out of his pants to hide it. He walks over to the house and slowly walks up the driveway. With each step a bunch of memories start pooling around in his head.

His heart his pounding so hard that he can feel it beating in his throat. Fitz is already up the driveway and is now standing at the front door. He stands there for a little bit going over what he was going to say. Fitz swallows hard and takes a deep breath, composing himself before ringing the doorbell. He waits for about a minute and when there is still no reply, he rings the doorbell again. He hears a sweet feminine voice say she's coming on the other side of the door. Seconds later the door opens and Fitz is met by the most loving and thoughtful woman he has ever known- his mom.

She looks up at him and immediately recognizes who he is. Her eyes are wide in shock. She looks as if she has just seen a ghost. The last person she expects to see again let alone be at her doorstep was standing directly in front of her. Tears form in her eyes as she looks at his now older form. Fitz looks down at her and gives her a soft smile.

"Fitz." She says in a shaky voice barely above a whisper.

"Hi mom." He gently greets her from his spot on the porch.

The tears that form in her eyes begin running freely down her face. She cannot believe that Fitz of all people is standing before her. Her baby boy is finally home.

**Author's Note: I want to add more to the description because I feel like it only gives you guys half of what they story's about. I also want to explain more about the story. Right now Fitz and Liv are living a comfortable life with their daughter, but Fitz is going to realize that he wants more than what he's settling for which will end up causing problems in his relationship with Olivia. Another chance for Fitz to live his dream will arise again, but the question is will he take it. He's going to go on an emotional roller coaster ride and take everyone who's close to him on it too. So hold on tight because this is going to be one bumpy ride. If you have any questions or concerns or want to know more about this story in further details don't hesitate to leave a review or a pm. Honestly I'm the one writing the story and I'm a little confused in some areas. I'm also considering adding a few flashbacks like how Olivia found out she pregnant and how she and Fitz came up with their plan. I don't know I thought they might help explain/understand the story better. Anyway I hope you enjoyed!**


	3. Chapter 3

**I'm sorry, I know that this story hasn't been posting the new chapter and I'm probably blowing up your emails like crazy. I don't know what's going on with site. I hope you enjoy!**

Olivia is sitting on the couch in the living while on her laptop studying for one of her classes when the doorbell rings. She signs out of her account and shuts down her computer before heading to the door.

"It's about time someone answered the door its cold outside." Maya Pope says when Olivia opens the door.

"I'm sorry about that mom. Come in. Hi daddy." She says giving her dad a hug and a kiss as he walks in the house following in after his wife.

"Hi my beautiful girl." Eli responds returning her hug and kiss.

"Oh and what about me, am I chop liver now?" Maya asks jokingly offended by not receiving a greeting from Olivia.

"Awe hi mommy dearest." Olivia responds giving her a loving hug and kiss.

"That's better. And where is my nanas?" Maya asks looking around.

"She's upstairs in her room taking a nap. She should be waking up now. Hold on I'll go get her."

Olivia goes upstairs and goes to Arielle's bedroom where the toddler is sleeping soundly. Olivia smiles at how adorable her daughter looks when she's sleeping. Not that she doesn't look adorable all the time, but when she's sleeping, she looks so much at peace like a little angel. Olivia gently sits on the bed and rubs Arielle's back.

"Baby wake up." Olivia softly whispers in her daughter's ear.

Arielle stirs, but doesn't wake up. Olivia moves from rubbing her back to stroking her head full of light brown curls, something she definitely inherited from Fitz.

"Come on Ari grandma and grandpa is downstairs looking for you." Olivia tries again and is successful.

Arielle immediately jumps up after hearing her grandparents were downstairs. She doesn't even wait for Olivia, she runs down hall and to the stairs.

"GRANDMA, GRANDPA!" She excitedly yells while running down the stairs.

"Arielle no running!" Olivia calls out from her spot a couple of stairs behind Arielle who's not listening and is only focused on getting to her grandparents.

She steps off the last step and runs straight to the living room, where Maya and Eli are sitting on the couch waiting for her.

"Hi grandma. Hi grandpa." She greets while holding out her arms for one of them to pick her up.

Eli picks up Arielle and places kisses all over her face and engulfs her in his big papa bear hug. She cries out in laughter as he blows raspberries into her belly. When it comes to Arielle she has everyone wrapped around her little chubby finger especially Eli. He will give her anything and everything she wants, all she has to do is ask. He makes it his mission to spoil her rotten. Olivia sits next to her mother as they both smile and watch a grandfather and his granddaughter interact.

"Grandpa did you bring a present for me?" Arielle asks once her and Eli has calm down.

"Arielle that's not nice, you don't ask Pop Pop that apologize right now."

She lowers her head and says in her sad voice, "I'm sorry grandpa."

Eli smiles softly and his heart breaks looking at his little girl upset. He pulls her closer and she snuggles her little body into his. Maya rubs her back in comfort, being another one who can't stand seeing her granddaughter sad.

"Awe it's ok sweetheart. Grandma and I in fact do have a present for you." She lifts her head and smiles brightly at her grandparents. "But you have to wait until next week to get it because then it's your birthday and we won't have anything to give to you on it if we give you your present now."

Arielle frowns and snuggles back into him burying her face in his chest. Eli can feel her shaking as she silently cries into his chest. Maya and Olivia notices she's crying too. Olivia gets up and takes her from Eli. Arielle wraps her arm around her mother's neck and buries her face in her chest continuing to cry. Olivia sways her back and forth and before they know it, Arielle is fast asleep again.

Olivia softly whispers, "I'm going to take her back upstairs and lay her down. I'll be back down in a minute."

Not too soon after, Olivia is back in the living room and sits in between her parents like she did when she was a little girl.

"Well your granddaughter was being a little grumpy pants because I woke her up a little earlier than her usual time and she was just tired." Olivia states.

Eli and Maya laugh.

"Hey Eli doesn't that sound like someone I know?" Maya asks her husband.

Eli nods his head in agreement, "It most certainly does. Gee I wonder who Arielle gets that from…" He says scratching the top of his head and pretending like he's actually thinking.

"Ok I get it you two, I did the same thing but-"She's cut off by Maya.

"Do, you do the same nothing's changed. Wake you up a minute early and you're the devil's spawn." Maya points out.

Olivia laughs and bumps her mother's shoulder with her own.

"So are you and Fitz still planning on throwing Ari a party for her birthday?"

"Yeah we already sent out the invitations, ordered the cake, and bought her present, which is at Abby's house, now all we have to do is pick up decorations. We're going to wait to decorate the house until the day of the party." Olivia says mentally running through the to do list in her head.

"Are you excited that your baby girl is turning 3 years old next Saturday." Eli asks.

"I'm excited but at the same time I can't believe she's going to be 3. I remember the day she was born and how tiny she was. I remember her first words and steps. And you should have seen how Fitz was when he realized how fast she's was growing up. He spent the entire day telling Ari that she's not allowed to grow up and that she'll always be daddy's little girl. He made her promise that there will be no boyfriends until he was dead which ended up causing her to cry when she thought about her daddy dying. Once she calmed down, she told Fitz that Zach asked her to marry him the other day but she said no because he had to ask her daddy first. Fitz was proud of her response, but that didn't stop him. I lie to you not, he got every gun he owned and was about to go to Abby's and scare the living hell out of poor Zach by interrogating him." Olivia laughs as she retells the story, Eli and Maya join in on the laughter too.

"Fitz is crazy. I'm glad he's a protective father though, just like Eli." Maya says.

"Yeah I just hope he isn't trigger happy every time a boy attempts to talk to Ari." Olivia admits.

"Nonsense I hope Fitz does, hell I'll even join him." He pretends there is a gun in his hand and he fires it.

Olivia playfully rolls her eyes and groans, "Oh god."

"Hey I taught Fitz right. I told him as a man he needs to protect his family at all costs. I'm glad he's protective over you and my grandbaby."

"All this talk of Fitz and he's not even in the room. Is he still asleep?" Maya asks checking the time on her phone which reads 12 p.m.

"No he's out running errands, he won't be back until later he said in the note he left me this morning. I'm guessing he must have left pretty early because his side of the bed was really cold and felt like no one had slept there for hours when I woke up." Olivia says simply.

"Oh well I hope wherever he's at and whatever he's doing, he's safe." Maya replies.

"How are things between the two of you?" Eli asks.

"Things are great between us but we haven't spent a lot of time together just the two of us. And I know that sounds ridiculous since we live together but we haven't really spent quality time outside of the house. I want to surprise him by doing something special and romantic for him since he works so hard and never complains about anything. He truly deserves it."

"I think that's a good idea and whenever you decide to do that call us and we'll be happy to watch nanas for you guys." Maya offers.

"Thank you guys that would mean a lot to me but can Ari also spend the night at your house whatever night Fitz and I plan on going out?"

Eli clears his throat knowing exactly what his daughter was insinuating. He knows that Olivia and Fitz have been intimate with each other since they were teenagers, but he likes to believe that his little girl is still pure even if she does have a daughter of her own, lives with and sleeps in the same bed as the father of her child.

"We most certainly will keep our grandbaby overnight whenever you and Fitz decide a night to go out but I hope whatever you two end up doing doesn't include making another baby. Don't get me wrong, I love Ari but the last thing the two of you need is another baby or at least until you guys are married." Eli says sternly.

"I can't promise that Fitz and I won't… um you know but I can promise you that no babies will be made in the process." Olivia assures her parents with an amused smile on her face.

"Olivia your father and I serious no more cute smushy babies until you're married." Maya says in the same stern tone Eli used.

"I know I know no more babies until Fitz and I are married got it."

"Good." Both Eli and Maya say in unison and the same satisfied tone causing all of them to laugh.

**XXX**

"So how are you Fitz?" Susan asks as she holds his large rough hands in her small soft ones.

They are sitting on a couch in her living room. Fitz can't help but look around and notice all of his pictures that were once hanging up on the wall, are now gone and there is a new family portrait hanging above the fireplace that doesn't include him.

"I'm fine." He says gently. "I guess Big Jerry kept his word when he said there would be no trace of my existence in this house."

"Fitz I tried to stop him but he wouldn't. He burned all of your pictures except for the ones in your baby book which I kept up to date, so that you could look back at yourself from the time you were a baby up until when you senior in high school. I have it hidden in the attic if you'd like it. I'm sure I can fish it out for you."

She lets go of his hands and goes to stand up, but Fitz grabs her arm and kindly pulls her to sit back down.

"No I want you to keep it." Susan nods and appreciates his understanding of how much the book means to her by declining the offer to take it.

"So tell me about yourself. "

Fitz shrugs his shoulders, "There's not really much to tell. I work for the NYPD as a police officer and that's pretty much it, nothing else has changed."

Susan sees a brief look of regret in his eyes, but as quick as it comes it leaves.

"Did you um… ever end up going to college?" She asks slowly and cautiously.

Fitz shakes his head, "No not yet. I'm planning on to but for right now I can only afford to pay for Liv to take her online college courses. She finishes in 2 years, so that's when I'll begin my classes."

"Fitz you had a full scholarship for football to any division 1 college you could think of and you turned all of them down and walked away. You, Liv and your baby would have been taken care of while you did what did best and that was throwing touchdowns. You realize that don't you?" She's a bit worried that she pushes him too far by the way his body is stiff, he clenches his jaw, and his face becomes slightly red.

Fitz takes a deep breath to calm down before responding, "I do realize that and it wasn't an easy decision to make but you know why I did it. You know why I chose not to go."

"You're right I do know why you chose not to go to college but sometimes I think that you made the wrong choice by running away from your problem instead of facing it head on. You were brave to stand up to Jerry and take responsibility for your actions and for that I am proud of you. You did what you felt was best for not only Liv and your baby but for you as a human being also." Susan states truthfully.

Seeing and sensing that Fitz is without a doubt distraught and done talking and listening about his missed opportunity, Susan decides to change the subject. She knows that one day all of what Fitz is holding inside will be forced to come out and he may think his old wounds are healed, but truth is they are getting bigger every day.

"How is Liv? Are you two still together? What about the baby? Is it a boy or girl?" Susan fires a bunch of questions out at once mostly because she is anxious to hear all about her first grandchild.

Liv is great and yes we are still together. Liv and I have a daughter and her name is Arielle Jecelyn Grant." Fitz says as he relaxes and a huge smile forms on his face.

"Wow that's a beautiful name. I can't believe you have a daughter or that I have a granddaughter. I bet she's just as cute as a button." Susan says with a smile mirroring the one Fitz has on his face.

"Yeah she is. I have a ton of photos of her on my phone from the day she was born up until now, would you like to see them?"

"Of course." She says overjoyed to see her granddaughter for the first time, even if she is just looking at photos.

Fitz pulls out his phone and unlocks it going to his camera roll. He starts off by showing her pictures of Arielle when she was just a newborn up until the time she was a year old. He then goes on to show her pictures of Arielle at 1 years old and now. Susan brings her hands to cover her mouth as she looks at the recent photos of her granddaughter.

"Oh my goodness Fitz she's so beautiful. She looks so much like you and Liv but mostly Liv. She has your curly brown hair and striking crystal clear blue eyes but everything else is Liv's. She definitely has her mother's high cheekbones, nose, pouty lips, and drop dead gorgeous smile."

"Yeah she's also has Liv's stubborn attitude too." Fitz jokes.

Susan laughs, "I hate to break it to you but it's only going to get worse with age, believe me I speak from experience because I considered myself to be quite the she-devil when I was a teen and your sister is the same way right now. "

Fitz groans, "Thanks for the heads up."

She smiles and pats his leg, "You'll be fine and as far as I can tell you and Liv are doing a terrific job raising her."

"Yeah we like to do educational but fun things with her. Liv and I go on a website called and it allows us to play educational games with her and other things like that. It's definitely paying off because she's extremely smart for her age."

"I bet she is indeed. How old is Arielle 3 right?"

"Almost her birthday is next Saturday. Liv and I are throwing her a birthday party at our house if you and Kayla would like to come. It starts at 1 p.m. and ends at 5. I really want you guys to meet her. You don't even have to bring a present, just you being there is a gift." Fitz says trying to convince her to accept his invitation.

"Fitz I would love too and I know that Kayla would too but I'm not sure if I can go yet."

Fitz slightly frowns. Just as Susan's about to say something, the sound of car door being slammed comes from outside. Susan rushes to window where she sees its Big Jerry and he is walking towards the house. She steps away from the window with a frightening look on her face.

"Fitz you need to hide now, Jerry's coming!" Susan says in a panicked voice.

Fitz nods and runs into the hallway, just as Big Jerry is entering the house. Big Jerry walks through the living room cursing expletives, not acknowledging his wife who is sitting on the couch pretending to read a book. In reality she can hear her heart pounding in her chest as thinks of the quickest way to get Jerry to leave the house. He is clearly looking for something and if she can find out what it is then she can help him find it and get him out of the house. When Susan sees Jerry walking out of the living room, she panics and decides to make her presence known.

"Jerry what are you looking?" Susan asks sweetly.

Big Jerry sighs heavily from annoyance, "My damn cell phone. I don't understand how I made it to the office and all that time I didn't notice that it wasn't with me."

He turns to walk out of the living room and is yet again stopped by his wife.

"What Sue? I don't have time; I need to find my phone so I can get to back to the office as quickly as possible." Jerry says impatiently.

"I know but I think I remember seeing your phone upstairs on the nightstand in our bedroom." She replies trying to buy some time for Fitz to hide while she stalls Big Jerry.

Fitz, who is now holding his gun in his hand, slowly and quietly makes his way down the hall and goes into the bathroom.

"That's funny because I remember leaving it in my office."

He pushes pass her and goes down the hall to his office. Susan peaks her head into the hallway and breathes a sigh of relief when she doesn't see Fitz. Big Jerry steps inside his office and there on the desk is his phone. He smiles and picks it up. Walking out of his office, Big Jerry realizes that he has been holding his bladder for a while now and goes to the bathroom to relieve himself.

Fitz stands in the bathroom and listens to Jerry's heavy footsteps as they come closer to the bathroom door. He looks around for another hiding place and steps inside the shower pulling its curtains closed. He takes a deep breath when suddenly the footsteps stop and the bathroom door flies open. Fitz stands in the shower while awkwardly listening to his father urinate. It takes all the self-control in Fitz' body not to blow a bunch holes in the back of Big Jerry's. Fitz lets out a breath of relief when Big Jerry exits the bathroom.

He waits a good 5 minutes before stepping out of the shower and quietly opening the bathroom's door. Fitz hears Susan call his name and tell him that it's ok to come out now. He sticks his gun back in the waistband of his pants and walks back down the hallway. He enters the living room and sits back down on the couch in his former spot.

"What was that about?" Fitz asks.

"It was nothing he just forgot his cell phone that's all." Susan replies with a wave signaling for Fitz to forget about it.

"Is it because of him? Is he the reason why you can't go to my daughter's birthday party?" He asks in a disappointed and knowing tone.

"I didn't say I couldn't go… I just have to see ok." She replies answering one of his question.

He nods choosing to let it go for now, "Ok. Well if you decide to come…" Fitz digs in his pocket and pulls out a piece of paper with writing on it. "Here's my home and cell phone number and this is my address."

Susan flashes him a soft smile, "Thank you."

"You're welcome mom."

They sit in silence relishing being in each other's presence. Susan uses this time to take in Fitz and focus on how much he changed in the past 4 years. She starts with his hair which has gotten just a tiny bit longer since she last saw him. He has the face of a 22 year old but she can definitely see in his eyes that he has aged more. Her eyes travel to his shoulders which are broader. She already knows that he's gotten more muscular from when she gave him a hug earlier. Her eyes go to his left hand and notices there is no ring on his ring finger.

She frowns at this, which Fitz instantly picks up on. His eyes follow hers to his hand and he crosses his arms across his chest effectively hiding his left hand underneath his right arm.

"So you and Liv are not married yet." She says more like a statement than a question.

"No not yet." Fitz hesitantly answers.

"Why not?" Susan asks.

Fitz sighs, "Because I don't feel like I'm ready for marriage. I get it Liv and I are like a married couple already but I don't want to marry her for the wrong reasons."

Fitz gives a vague answer hoping that his mom senses that he doesn't want to talk about that topic, but unfortunately she doesn't and continues to ask questions.

"Such as?"

"I feel like everyone is pressuring me to marry her just because she's the mother of my child and we're together. I feel like I'm still too young and I have a few doubts, not of Liv and I's relationship but of just myself as a person, if that makes any sense. I love of her so much but I feel like I need to wait until we're a little older and I'm fully sure of myself." Fitz reveals.

"Fitz I love you but that makes absolutely no sense. You and Liv have been together since you were sophomores in high school. You gave up your dream, separated yourself from your sister and me, given at the time you didn't have a choice but you sacrificed so much to be with Liv and you're telling me you don't want to make your commitment to her legal. That doesn't make sense to me. But I am actually glad that you didn't propose to or marry her yet because I have something for you." She says getting up from the couch and goes upstairs, leaving Fitz with his thoughts.

Moments later she comes back down the stairs and sits back down in her spot on the couch. Fitz watches as she opens her hands revealing a little navy blue box. Susan opens the box and in there is a Victorian engraved 5 diamond ring 18 gold half-hook wedding engagement ring.

"Wow it's beautiful." He says admiring the ring from its place in the box.

"It belonged to my mother. On her death bed she gave it to me and told me to give it to her little Fitzy once you found the right one to marry. Olivia is no doubt the one for you and same goes for you, you're the one for her too." She says handing him the box with the ring still inside.

Fitz marvels at it for a couple more seconds before closing the box and placing it in his pocket.

"Thank you mom for always having my back and supporting me… and setting me straight when I get out of line. " Fitz gives her a hug.

"You're welcome baby that's what mothers are for."

"So I want to hear all about what you and Kayla have been up to for the last few years." Fitz says wanting to shift the conversation towards her and he is genuinely interested in hearing about his mother and sister.

Susan spends the next hour or so catching Fitz up on her and Kayla's life from the time he left until now. Fitz enjoys listening to his mom talk even when she brings up bad memories, he's just thankful to spend time and be with her. When she finishes, Fitz notices it's getting late and he aversely gets up and walks to the door with Susan right behind him. He turns and faces her.

"Well mom it was great seeing you and if you need anything do not hesitate to call any of the numbers I gave to you. And I would really like to hang out with you and Kayla maybe take you guys to lunch or something. I don't know but what I do know is that I don't want to go another week, month, or year without seeing either of you again."

"It was great seeing you too and I will definitely give you a call sometime this week." She says with a promising smile.

Fitz smiles giving her a hug and kiss on the forehead, "I love you mom."

"I love you too Fitz."

"Bye."

"Bye."

With that Fitz turns and walks out the door. Susan watches out the window as he makes his way to his car and drives away.

**XXX**

"Hello my loves." Fitz says walking into the living room where Arielle is picking out another movie to watch while Olivia sits on the couch watching her.

Arielle drops the movies in her hands and runs over to Fitz. Fitz bends and picks her up.

"Hi daddy I missed you today."

"I missed you too." Fitz replies giving her a kiss and walking over to the couch where he sits down next to Olivia.

"Did you miss mommy too?"

"Of course I did."

He looks at Olivia and leans in for a kiss. She gives in to his request and kisses him back. After about a minute, Arielle becomes a tad bit jealous at her father showing her mother more affection and attention. She pushes their heads apart and tells Fitz to pick out a movie with her. They end up choosing Frozen and Fitz pops the movie into the dvd player. Arielle sits in between her parents on the couch as they all cuddle up with each other and watch the movie.

Halfway through Arielle falls asleep and Fitz takes her upstairs to her bedroom. He goes back to the living room to find it deserted and Olivia nowhere in sight. He then hears clinking of pots and walks to the kitchen. In the kitchen Olivia has started dinner which was a simple meal of spaghetti and meatballs. Fitz walks up behind her and wraps his arms around her waist kissing her cheek.

"Your hair smells good." He mumbles burying his face in her hair.

"Thank you but it's the same shampoo I've been using for years, you smelled it dozens of times." Olivia giggles at his silliness.

"I know but I just love the way it smells."

He moves her hair out of the way and starts placing soft kisses on her neck.

"I'm glad you do. So what important errands did you run today that had you up at the crack of dawn?" Olivia asks.

Fitz stills his movements and lifts his head up.

"First off I wasn't up at the crack of dawn and secondly I wasn't really out running errands all day... I went to visit my mom." He responds quickly.

Olivia stops cooking and turns off the oven. She faces him giving him her full attention.

"Oh yeah? How'd it go? How is Susan?" She asks taking a seat at the kitchen table.

Fitz sits down across from her, "It went great and my mom's great, the same actually. She asked about you and Ari. She's thrilled that she has a granddaughter and of course I had to show her pictures. She's already in love with Ari."

Olivia laughs, "Your mom is another victim that has been captured under Ari's spell and she was just looking at pictures."

Fitz joins Olivia laughing at her statement because he finds it funny that Arielle has everyone who looks at her, wrapped around her finger.

"She thinks Ari is the cutest little girl she's ever laid eyes on."

"Yeah she's cute and all when she's happy and in a good mood but when she's upset or doesn't get her way she's the most stubborn little monster you can encounter." Olivia mutters.

"Just like her mother." Fitz says while playfully coughing in his fist.

Olivia glares at him, "Watch it." Fitz smirks at her.

"So you visited your mom… was Kayla there? How is little Kayla?"

"Kayla was not there but the other day Stephen said he saw her and showed me a few pictures that he took of her. I must say the Kayla that you and I remembered isn't so little anymore." Fitz shakes his head. "This is great I'm surrounded on all sides by estrogen you, Ari, my mom, your mom and Kayla. I'm going to have to double up on my guns because if anything happens to any of you I'll kill someone with no questions asked."

Olivia chuckles, "Oh stop being so protective of us. Loosen up a bit."

"Livvie I'm a cop whose family consists of a bunch of females and it's my job to be protective over all of you."

"Was Big Jerry there too?" Olivia asks cautiously.

She watches as his usual soft and warm face turns into a dark and cold expression at the mention of his father.

"No I waited until he was gone before I went to talk to my mom." He replies with no emotion. He technically was telling the truth, but just not the full truth. Fitz didn't want to bring up how Big Jerry came back because he forgot his phone and how he had to hide in a shower while listening to his father pee.

Olivia gets up from her chair and walks around the table to where Fitz is sitting. She sits down on his lap and places a hand on his shoulder while her other hand repeatedly runs through his thick brown curls. Something she always does to comfort him whenever he is upset. Fitz responds by wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her into him. They stay like that for a long time, enjoying having the other in their arms.

Olivia slightly pulls back and looks down at Fitz who is looking back at her. She gives him a small smile and asks, "What did you and you're mom talk about?"

Fitz thinks back for a second and then responds.

"We talked about my job as a cop, Arielle, you, and other things. We really just caught up on lost times."

He intentionally leaves out the part of the conversation about him once having the option of going to college to play football and the ring his mom had given him for when he plans on proposing to her.

"Oh did you invite Susan to Arielle's birthday party next weekend?"

"Yeah I invited her and Kayla. She said she would have to see and she'll give me a call sometime this week, so we'll find out then I guess."

"Ok well I hope she does end up coming to the party. I really want Ari to meet her other grandma and her aunt." Olivia says longingly.

"Me too."

**Author's Note: I know that some of you brought up the fact that Fitz could have gone to college, which I am aware of, but there is a reason why he didn't and it will be explained later on. I hope you enjoyed! **


	4. Chapter 4

**I hope you enjoy!**

The week goes by quickly and Saturday is already here. Arielle being the excited birthday girl she is gets up early and runs into her parent's bedroom where they are still sleeping. She jumps into their bed simultaneously waking them up. Fitz and Olivia immediately grab Arielle into their arms while placing dozens of kisses on her face and wishing her a happy birthday. The trio goes downstairs in their pajamas and Fitz makes them a huge breakfast consisting of heart shaped pancakes, scrambled eggs, French toast, and bacon with orange juice and milk.

After they finish eating breakfast, Fitz gives Arielle a bath and changes her into her birthday attire which is a Princess Anna from Frozen costume. Originally her party was supposed to be Sofia the First themed, but after watching Frozen she changed her mind and wanted a Frozen themed birthday party. Luckily for Olivia and Fitz at the time, they didn't buy any of the decorations yet, but they had to call all of the guests who were coming and inform them on the change in plans.

After Fitz is done getting Arielle ready, he gets himself dressed and joins Olivia downstairs to help put up decorations. Around noon Eli and Maya bring some dishes of food for the party and after attacking their granddaughter with kisses and hugs, they help Fitz and Olivia finish getting everything set up. A half hour later Abby, Stephen, and Zachary arrive with a Frozen themed birthday cake Olivia had asked them to pick up and a present for Arielle.

Since everything is set up for the party Fitz, Eli, and Stephen retreat to the garage, which Fitz turned into his own personal man cave. Fitz hands each of them a beer and turns on the tv. He flips through channels until he finds a football game to watch. Inside the kitchen Olivia, Maya, and Abby are sitting at the table gossiping about the latest news and going on rants about how annoying men can be.

"I don't know about Stephen and daddy but I can't complain about Fitz. He does whatever I ask him to without giving it a second thought and oh, he also has no problem satisfying my every need." Olivia states giving Abby and her mother a knowing smile.

"Yeah he may be able to satisfy your needs but little Fitzy isn't all that perfect. Sure he may do whatever you ask after you ask him to do it a million times. Am I right?" Abby asks both women.

"Ok maybe I do need to badger Fitz a few times before he does something I ask but **nothing** is little about him." Olivia says with a smirk on her face as she takes a sip from her water bottle.

"Whoa Liv!" Abby covers her ears with her hands.

Maya puts her hands up and shakes her head, "Ok that is a lot more than I needed to know about Fitz."

"Maya's right Liv, that's just too much information."

"Well Abby you did call Fitz little and I had to defend my man by telling you he's just the opposite."

"Ok ok I get now can we move on? I don't think I'll ever be able to look Fitz in the eye again." Abby gags trying to shake the thought out of her head.

"Yeah me either." Maya agrees.

Olivia laughs at both the women who have disgusted looks on their faces. They continue talking and laughing and having a good time. Around one o'clock guests start arriving to the house. The friends that Olivia made and kept in contact with from her mommy and me classes are there with their children as well as a few of Olivia's relatives such as her two older twin cousins Jessica and Jeffrey, her aunt and mother's older sister Janice, and her uncle Peter. A few of Fitz' friends and coworkers are in attendance to the party with their children this including Captain Cyrus Beene, his husband James, and their 3 year old daughter Ella.

Olivia being the good hostess she is sends all the males to the garage to hang out with Fitz and the other guys, knowing that they rather be watching the game and drinking beer. Instead of hanging out with the guys, James chooses to sit with the ladies in the kitchen and joins in on their conversation. Every 10 minutes Olivia gets up and check on the children, who are running around not really playing any game in particular.

One of Arielle's friends accidentally steps on her dress while chasing after her causing her to trip and smack into the wall body first. She immediately starts balling her eyes out from the mixture of pain and embarrassment. All of the adults in the kitchen come rushing into the room to see if it is their kid who is crying. When Olivia sees its Arielle, she instantly runs over to her and picks her up. She rubs Arielle's back to soothe her, something Olivia always does when she is upset. After a minute goes by, Olivia tells someone to get Fitz when Arielle shows no sign of calming down.

Seconds later Fitz is running into the room with the rest of the guys behind him. He goes over to Olivia and his upset daughter. Arielle cries even harder when she sees Fitz and reaches her arms out for him to hold her. Fitz takes Arielle from Olivia and sways her back and forth, another mechanism that helps calm her down when she's upset. He rubs her back and tells her everything's going to be fine.

"Where does it hurt?" Fitz quietly asks only audible enough for her to hear.

She points to her arm.

"Do you want me to kiss it and make it better?" He asks in the same soft and quiet voice.

Arielle nods her head and holds up her arm. Fitz gently grabs her arm and places kisses all over it. He then blows into her armpit which causes her to laugh and squeeze her arm shut from the tickling sensation.

Fitz pulls his head back, "Does your arm feel better?"

"Yes daddy. Thank you." She says giving him a hug.

Everyone cheers and Fitz holds a fist up in triumph.

"Way to go superman!" A male voice calls from the back of the crowd that formed in the living room.

"Hey if he has the body of superman and the signature superman curl then he must be superman!" Another voice calls out from the crowd.

"Thank you James!" Fitz says as he puts his hands on his hips and pokes out his chest, striking the superman pose.

Everyone laughs and heads back to either the garage or kitchen. Around three o'clock, Olivia calls everyone into the dining room where dinner is being served. In the dining room there are two tables, one for the adults and another for the kids. Since there are not enough chairs for each adult to sit in, most of the women sit on their significant other's lap or pulls empty chairs from the kid's table and find space to squeeze in.

At the end of dinner the doorbell rings. Olivia gets up to answer it, but Fitz tells her that he's got it since she is still eating and he's already done. He opens the door and standing on his doorstep is the two faces he's been praying all week would show up. His face lights up like a Christmas tree.

"Mom! Kayla! I can't believe you guys actually came! Get over here!" Fitz says excitedly with open arms.

Fitz hugs Susan first and tells her he's so happy to see her again before releasing her and turning to Kayla. He captures her in the biggest and tightest hug he possibly can without suffocating or hurting her. He holds her tight afraid of letting her go and the moment he's been waiting for, four 4 years go. Fitz tells her he missed her so much and reluctantly lets her go. He takes both of their coats off and hangs them in the closet with the rest of the guests' coats.

"Where should I put this?" Susan asks holding up a medium sized box neatly wrapped in pink wrapping paper.

"Oh I'll take it." Fitz says taking the box from her hands and putting it in the closet where the coats and other presents are.

"Would you guys like anything to eat or drink? Dinner just ended but there's plenty of food leftover if you would like any."

"That's ok Fitz; we already ate not too long ago." Susan declines politely.

"Fitz who's at the door?" Olivia asks walking to where Fitz, Susan, and Kayla were standing.

"Olivia!" Susan and Kayla elatedly squeal at the same time.

"Oh my god, Susan, Kayla!" Olivia says in surprise and excitement as she runs over to them, giving both of them hugs.

"It's so good to see you guys again and I'm so happy you could make it."

"It's good to see you too and you look absolutely stunning. Fitz how come you didn't tell me Liv has gotten even prettier than before, which I didn't think could have been possible?" Susan teasingly scolds him.

Fitz shrugs, "I guess it slipped my mind."

Olivia laughs and playfully smacks his arm.

"Susan, Kayla please come in and make yourselves at home while I go get the birthday girl." Olivia offers and walks them further into the house. She excuses herself and walks away in search of Arielle.

"To be honest mom I didn't think you were coming because when we spoke on the phone the other day you didn't give me an answer, so I just figured you weren't coming." Fitz says.

"I'm sorry about that but I wasn't sure if I was coming at the time and when I did decide to come, I wanted to surprise you and Liv." Susan replies.

Fitz chuckles, "Well congrats, you definitely succeeded in surprising us."

"Here we are." Olivia announces joining the three of them again with Arielle walking beside her this time.

"Mom, Kayla this is Arielle, your granddaughter and niece." Fitz states proudly while picking his daughter up.

He points to Susan, "Ari this is my mommy and your grandma Susan. Can you say hi?"

"Hi." Arielle greets her in a small shy voice.

"Hello sweetheart it's so nice to finally meet you. I have been waiting for this day for a very long time. Your daddy's told me so much about you." Susan says in her natural sweet and gentle voice.

Fitz then points to Kayla, "And this is my younger sister and your aunt Kayla."

"Hi Arielle it's nice to meet and has anyone ever told you that you are the most adorable little girl on the planet."

"Awe say thank you Ari." Olivia says.

"Thank you." Arielle replies a little more confidently becoming comfortable with her grandma and aunt's presence.

"You're welcome princess." Kayla says admiring her niece's costume.

"Hey that's what my mommy and daddy calls me." Arielle states in amazement.

"Yeah, well is it ok if I call you princess too?"

"Yes. Daddy can we eat cake and open presents now?"

Fitz looks at Olivia and she shakes her head no, "Um not right now princess, we still have a little more to do before we get there ok."

"Ok daddy." She turns back to Kayla. "Aunt Kayla will you play with me?"

Kayla heart swells at her niece calling 'Aunt Kayla' and asking if she will play with her.

"Of course I will." She responds happily and flattered.

Arielle squirms out of her father's arms and grabs Kayla's hand leading her into the living room, where she introduces all of her friends to her aunt Kayla and they play. Olivia, Fitz, and Susan all smile as they watch Arielle interact with Kayla. Whatever Kayla is saying to Arielle must be funny because she's laughing so hard and even request that Kayla pick her up.

"It looks like Arielle and Kayla are having a good time." Susan points out.

"Yeah I'm extremely happy that Arielle likes you and Kayla and already feels comfortable with having you both around." Fitz eagerly replies.

"Me too. Fitz, Liv you two are doing such an amazing job raising her, I'm so proud of you. She is such a little sweetheart."

Olivia laughs and wraps her arms around Fitz' waist, "Thank you Susan, you saying that means a lot to the both of us."

"You're welcome."

Olivia looks up at Fitz and smiles. He smiles back at her and gives her a kiss on the lips. When they pull apart, Arielle and Kayla are standing next to Susan watching them.

"Ari baby what's the matter?" Olivia asks.

"Mommy I want cake and my presents, can we please eat cake and open presents now?" Arielle kindly asks.

"Not yet baby, we have to wait for aunt Abby to return and then we will eat cake and open presents ok." Olivia responds.

"Ok. Aunt Kayla come on let's play." She says running into the living room with Kayla following closely behind.

"Come on mom I'll introduce you to everyone."

Fitz takes Susan's hand and takes her out to the garage where all the men are and introduces her to all of them except for Stephen and Eli who she already knows. She gives both Stephen and Eli hugs and thanks them for taking care of her son for the last 4 years. Fitz then takes her to the kitchen where all the females are. He lets Liv introduce his mom to all the ladies while he goes back to the garage with the rest of the guys.

Olivia introduces Susan to all of the females and James. Susan who already knows Maya gives her a huge hug and the two women catch up. 15 minutes later, Abby arrives back to the house with one of the presents that Olivia and Fitz bought for Arielle.

"Alright everyone I'm back." Abby announces walking in the kitchen with a white box and a red ribbon on the top of it, in her hands. "Here you go Liv." She hands Olivia the present.

Olivia hugs Abby and expresses her gratitude, "Thanks Abs I owe you one."

"It's no problem Liv, don't worry about it." Abby simply replies with a shrug.

Olivia calls everyone back into the dining room because it is cake time. Abby dims the light while Maya brings out the cake, placing it in the center of the dining table. Arielle sits in the middle of the table with the cake in front of her while Olivia and Fitz sit on either side of her. Fitz lights the big candle on the cake shaped like the number 3. Everyone sings happy birthday and claps when Arielle blows out the candles.

Fitz evenly cuts the cake in fair sized squares and places them on the small paper plates while Olivia hands the pieces of cake out to everyone. Once everyone finishes eating their slices of cake, they all move to the living room while Fitz grabs the presents out of the closet. Arielle sits in the center of the floor while everyone else is sitting or standing around her. Olivia hands Arielle her presents one by one and helps her open each of them while Fitz uses his phone to capture this moment on video.

The first present she opens is a Crayola widescreen light designer kit from Abby, Stephen, and Zachary. The second present she opens is a dolphin pillow pet from Cyrus, James, and Ella. Next Arielle opens the present that Janice, Peter, Jessica, and Jeffrey got for her, which is an easy bake oven. After that she opens Susan and Kayla's present, which is an iPad mini. Arielle then opens a huge box with a pink scooter in it, given to her by Eli and Maya. A pink helmet and pink elbow and knee pads are also in the box. Arielle moves on to open all of the rest of her presents before it's finally her parent's turn to give her, her present.

"Ari ready to open the present that daddy and I bought you?" Olivia enthusiastically asks her daughter with an excited smile on her face.

Arielle violently nods her head, "Yes please."

"Ok here you go." Olivia hands her the box with the red ribbon on the top of it.

Arielle removes the top of the box and in the box is a baby pug about two weeks old. Olivia takes the baby pug out of the box and gently places it on Arielle's lap. All of the guests 'awe' when they see the little pug snuggle into Arielle's body.

"What do you want to name him princess?" Fitz asks Arielle still videotaping her.

"I get to name him?!" Arielle asks with wide eyes full of astonishment.

"Of course sweetheart, he's your doggy." Fitz chuckles at her reaction.

"Hmmm I'm going to name him… Squishy!" She says gleefully.

"I love it that is the perfect name for a pug too." Olivia says petting Squishy and giving her daughter a kiss on the head.

"Ok Arielle mommy and I have one more surprise for you and it's upstairs in your bedroom. Aunt Kayla is going to cover your eyes and follow us up to your room now." Fitz says while pausing the video on his phone.

He and Olivia hurries up the stairs and head to Arielle's bedroom. They hold up a large sheet covering their second present for Arielle and wait patiently for everyone to enter her room.

"On the count of three open your eyes Ari ok." She nods her head. "Ok one… two… three!"

Fitz and Olivia drop the sheet just as Kayla uncovers Arielle's eyes to reveal a pink enchanted princess castle bunk loft bed. Arielle squeals with delight and runs over to her bed/castle. On one side of the bed are steps with built in drawers and on the other is a slide. Fitz, Olivia, and the rest of the guests watch in amusement as Arielle runs up the stairs to the bed, crawls on the top bunk bed and slides down the slide a couple of times before she calms down.

"So Ari I'm guessing you like your new castle then." Fitz chuckles out.

Arielle runs as fast as her little legs can go and flings herself into her daddy's awaiting arms.

"I love it daddy, thank you!" She responds and gives him a hug.

"You're welcome baby. I told you that I would get you a castle and it comes with comfortable beds. I might not be able to fit anywhere in or on it but I can assure you that mommy can." Fitz says looking at Olivia and flashing her a lopsided grin.

She shakes her heads and rolls her eyes trying to hide the smile that's forming on her face. Pretty soon after Arielle opens her presents, guests start to leave. Fitz and Olivia make sure to thank everyone as the walk out the door. Everyone is gone except for Olivia's parents and Fitz' mom and sister. Now Fitz and Olivia are standing in the doorway with his mom and Kayla who are about to leave, there's just one problem. In Kayla's arms is a sobbing Arielle who doesn't want her grandma or aunt to leave.

"It's ok Ari I promise you'll see me again." Kayla assures her trying to calm her down.

"I don't want you to go." She manages to get out through her sobs.

"I know Ari but we have to go now." Kayla tries to hand her niece back to Olivia, but the toddler tightens her arms around Kayla's neck.

"Maybe grandma Susan and aunt Kayla can come back over tomorrow and hang out it'll just be you, me, Grandma Susan and Maya, and aunt Kayla. We can have a girl's day out just the five us, how does that sound good?" Olivia asks looking at Susan for confirmation.

Susan nods her head and Arielle starts to calm down a bit.

"But in order for your grandma and aunt to come back, you have to let them go home so they can go to sleep and have energy for tomorrow." Olivia compromises.

Arielle loosens her arms from around Kayla's neck and looks her in the eye.

She sniffles and asks Kayla, "Do you promise to come back tomorrow?"

Kayla smiles and holds up her right hand, "I promise."

Arielle nods and gives Kayla a final hug for the night. Kayla hugs her back and kisses her red and wet cheeks from crying. Arielle then reaches out for her grandma.

"Are we all good now?" Susan softly asks rubbing her granddaughter's back.

"Yes."

"No not all us. What about me, what am I supposed to do tomorrow?" Fitz asks.

"I'm sure you'll think of something Ritz Bitz Fitz." Kayla teases with a smirk on her face.

Olivia and Susan laugh with Kayla and at Fitz.

"Really Ritz Bitz Fitz? How long did it take you to come up with that one?" Fitz fires back.

Kayla shrugs, "Just came up with it. Good huh?"

"Hell no it's corny, call me it again and I'll hang you from your underwear on a flag pole." He says both playfully and seriously.

"Fitz!" Both Susan and Olivia reprimand him for his language in front of Arielle and for threatening his little sister who he's supposed to protect not harm.

Fitz ignores them and goes back to his earlier thoughts, "How about I join you ladies tomorrow since I have nothing better to do."

Arielle turns to face her father and points a finger at him, "No daddy you're a boy, only girls allowed and you were mean to aunt Kayla." She says sternly and makes her best mad face at him.

"Wow you guys even got my own daughter to turn against me. I see how it is; I'm really feeling the love." He says sarcastically, which only made the girls laugh harder.

"I'm glad but it's getting late and we should really be heading home now. Arielle it was a pleasure meeting you sweetie and I'll see you tomorrow. I love you." Susan says as she places a soft kiss on Arielle's forehead and gives her hug before handing her over to Olivia.

"I love you too grandma." Arielle replies.

"Bye Liv." Kayla says as she gives Olivia a hug goodbye." And bye Fitzy bear!" She calls out as she runs out the door knowing Fitz will chase after her and Fitz does exactly that. He chases her around the cars a few times before she jumps into her mom's car and locks the door. Fitz calls a truce and gives her a proper hug and kiss goodbye. He then walks his mom to the car and gives her a hug and kiss and tells her to drive safe.

"Alright Fitz I'm going to take Ari upstairs and give her a bath before putting her to bed, can you help my parents clean up down here?"

"Yeah sure babe." Fitz says and goes into the living room first which is spotless and has everything in its place.

He then goes into the dining room where he sees Maya collecting paper plates and cups and stacking them at the end of the table.

"Hey Maya can I help you with anything?"

"Hey Fitz and yeah can you throw out this garbage for me?" She asks handing him the garbage pile.

"Of course." He takes the trash out of her hands.

"Thanks Fitz." Maya says now wiping the table off.

"Yep."

Fitz walks into the kitchen and disposes the garbage in his hands in the trash can. Eli is also in the kitchen putting away leftovers in the refrigerator.

"Hey Eli can I help you with anything in here?" Fitz asks walking over to the kitchen counter and leaning against it.

"Uh no I think everything's good in here." He replies looking around to make sure everything is clean and in place.

"Ok." Fitz says as he goes to walk out of the kitchen.

"Wait Fitz!" Eli calls out just as Fitz exits the kitchen.

Not a second later Fitz is walking back in, "Yes?" He asks going back to his spot at the counter and leans against it.

"I was wondering if you were busy tomorrow."

"Um no I'm not busy tomorrow. Why?"

"I was wondering if you would join me and my friends tomorrow at the field. Every Sunday we play a football game at the field and my team is in desperate need of a quarterback since our quarterback just broke his shoulder at work two days ago. I know that football is kind of a sore subject for you and you haven't played in years but the game tomorrow is super important and I wouldn't be asking you if I knew someone else who had an arm like yours. You see every other month or so my team and the other team make a bet for $500. If my team wins we get the money and if the other team wins they get the money. My team lost the last five times and it's honestly because we had a sucky quarterback who couldn't throw an accurate pass if his life depended on it." Eli says.

"So let me get this right every Sunday you and your guys play football and every other month you bet $500 that your team will beat the opposing team. You lost five times in a row because your quarterback is ass and now he's injured, so you want me to fill in for him." Fitz states.

"Yes but only for this game, afterwards I can find someone else to be the quarterback for my team." Eli assures him.

Fitz takes a couple of minutes to consider Eli's offers before giving his answer, "I'll do it. Just one thing aren't you guys sort of old to be playing football? I mean wouldn't it be unfair to have someone as young as me play?"

Eli laughs, "No we are not too old and there are guys your age who play on both my team and the other team, so you have nothing to worry about."

Fitz nods, "Ok just making sure."

"Thank you Fitz for doing this." Eli says sincerely and gives him a hug.

Fitz hugs him back, "Anytime."

* * *

"Did she go down easily?" Fitz asks when Olivia walks into the room.

"Yep as soon as her head hit the pillow she was out like a light." Olivia replies while stripping off all her clothes and undergarments slipping on her nightgown, completely oblivious to the set of eyes that are burning holes in the back of her body.

Olivia throws her clothes into the hamper and joins Fitz on the bed where he is lying on his back above the comforter. Fitz immediately pulls her on top of him causing her to burst out in laughter. Fitz lips instantly connect with Olivia's and he wastes no time plunging his tongue inside her mouth. His hands slide down her body and rest on her backside where he grips and squeezes it. Olivia lets out a soft moan which entices Fitz to squeeze her bottom harder. Wanting to have complete dominance over him, Olivia removes Fitz' hands from her ass and places them above his head. She breaks this kiss and Fitz groans.

"What are you doing?" Fitz asks breathlessly and confused.

"Well Ritz Bitz Fitz I'm on top but you are acting like the dominate one and I can't have that. I think I need to put you in your place." Olivia says with an edge to her tone.

"Olivia I don't allow my sister to call me that what in the hell makes you think that you can?" Fitz asks slightly annoyed at Olivia's shenanigans.

Olivia puts her finger to his lips silencing him, "Shhh Ritz Bitz Fitz is the slogan that has the name of my favorite snack in it." She says seductively as she slowly cascades down his body.

Fitz gulps hard and watches her intently as she licks a trail from his chest, to his stomach, and all the way down to the waistband of his boxers. She slowly peels his boxers off of his body and throws them somewhere behind her. She looks up at him with lust filled eyes and a devilish grin on her face. Fitz knows what's about to come next and before he can take a deep breath to calm himself-

"Fuck!" He violently throws his head back as Olivia fully takes his rock hard member in her mouth.

She releases him and says, "And it just so happens you're my favorite snack."

**Author's Note: I was planning on going farther with this chapter, but I got tired so I'm ending it here. Anyway next chapter you get to see… well read… Fitz in football mode. Any thoughts on what kind of quarterback he is now compared to his high school days? I hope you enjoyed!**


	5. Chapter 5

**I didn't proof read this, so please forgive any errors that are made. Hope you enjoy!**

The next day Eli and the gang are at the field stretching and warming up. It is 20 minutes before the game starts and there is no sign of Fitz anywhere, which causes Eli's team to panic.

"Eli I thought you said you found someone to be the quarterback for our team." Hal, one of Eli's teammates says as he looks at his watch.

Eli sighs, "I did."

"Then where the hell is he?" Tom, another one of Eli's teammates asks fretfully.

"I don't know where he is but he said he'll be here so relax."

"And what if he doesn't show up? We'll be screwed then." Another teammate states.

"Look guys you have nothing to worry about. He will be here, I trust him not to let me down." Eli says calmly, although in the inside he is a nervous wreck.

A few more minutes go by before Fitz finally shows up. He walks towards Eli and the rest of the guys who look nervous and annoyed. Eli spots Fitz and walks up to him.

"Fitz! Thank god you're here. I honestly began to think you weren't going to show up. Where the hell have you been man and what took you so long?"

"I'm sorry I'm late, I was actually on my way here and then I realized I left my cleats at home. Before I left again, I put them on to see if they still fit and unfortunately they didn't, so I had to go to the store and buy a new pair. Leaving from the store I ran into a little traffic on the way here. But all is good because I made it with…" Fitz looks at his watch. "10 minutes to spare."

"I'm just glad you're here now. Let me introduce you to the guys. Come on." Eli says and walks over to his team with Fitz walking beside him.

"Guys this is my son-in-law Fitz and he's our new quarterback for today." Eli announces.

Fitz gives Eli a questioning look when he says son-in-law and Eli nods his head, silently telling Fitz to go along with it. Fitz nods back his understanding. Eli introduces Fitz to each of the guys. Once he becomes acquainted with all of them, he puts on his glove, his cleats and he stretches before warming up.

Fitz throws the football to his teammate Frankie, who's not too much older than him. Frankie catches it and throws it back.

"Why are there 16 players on each team when there are only 11 allowed on the field?" Fitz asks catching the football and throwing it back.

"In case other players are tired or get injured, we have back up." Frankie says simply throwing the football back to Fitz.

The rest of the team watches as Fitz effortlessly throw the football and some seem unimpressed with his skills.

"He's a lefty." Tom points out.

"And what's your point?" Eli asks slightly annoyed by the hard time Tom is giving Fitz.

"Lefties are awkward and tricky especially when it comes to sports." Hal says.

Another one of Eli's teammates, Johnny steps in, "No they're not you dumb fuck, they just play the opposite of righties. And so what he's left handed big whoop. Way to state the obvious Sherlock."

"You know what fuck you John. The guy doesn't even look like the great quarterback Eli bragged about." Tom spits getting in Johnny's face.

"Hey that's enough Tom!" Eli says sternly. He pushes the two men apart, who are in each other's faces ready to throw a punch at any second. Tom slaps Eli's hand off his shoulder and angrily walks away.

"I'm sorry Eli but I hate when people are so disrespectful and ignorant." Johnny says in a sincere apologetic tone.

Eli smiles, "Its ok and thank you for standing up for Fitz. He's a really good guy and a hell of quarterback. I just wish the rest of the guys would give him a chance."

"Well its game time, let's see your boy go to work."

Both teams meet in the middle of the field where a coin is tossed. Eli chooses heads while the captain of the other team chooses tails. The coin lands on heads and the football is kicked off to Eli's team. Johnny catches the ball and begins to run. He gets tackled on his own 40 yard line. Fitz comes onto the field and joins his team. The ball is snapped to him. He takes a few steps back and cocks the football back. When he sees Frankie wide open, he throws the ball in his teammate's direction, but the pass is slightly overthrown.

"Shit." Fitz mutters to himself. He looks up to the sky and notices a figure in the corner of his eye. Fitz turns his head and spots a man who looked to be in his late forties or early fifties sitting in the bleachers. Fitz looks away from the guy who he thinks is just a spectator and focuses back on the game.

The football is snapped to Fitz and he once again throws the ball away only this time it is supposed to go to Tom, but ends up being thrown behind him.

"Time out!" Eli yells.

"Some great quarterback he is." Tom says condescendingly while walking passed Eli.

The team gets in a huddle and Eli is the first to speak up, "Fitz are you ok? You're not throwing like your usual self."

"Yeah it's just that it's been 4 years since I've thrown a football and I didn't really have enough time to get in a proper warm up, so I'm a little rusty. And on top of that I'm trying to break in these new cleats. I just need to find my rhythm that's all." Fitz says.

"No what you need to do is stop making up excuses and throw the damn ball accurately." Tom scoffs.

Having enough of Tom's attitude, Fitz is about to say something, but Eli gets to it first.

"Tom that's enough, one more smart comment out of you and your ass will be sitting on the bench. Fitz did nothing to you and you're acting like an asshole towards him. It's a shame that I have to say this to a grown man but if you have nothing nice to say then don't say it all." Eli says firmly.

All the men stay silent from the awkwardness until Fitz, so bravely breaks the silence.

"I have a game plan. It's simple but I know it'll work. Johnny you're way faster than the guy that's guarding you, blow by him and go all the way to the end zone. Anywhere you go the ball will land in your hands, I guarantee that. The rest of you block for me and buy us some time. Ready break!"

Both teams line up on their respective sides.

"Set! Hut!"

The ball is snapped to Fitz. He squares up his shoulders and steps a few feet back. He looks for Johnny who successfully runs pass his defender and is almost to the end zone. Fitz releases the ball and lets it fly down the field. As soon as Johnny turns around, the football comes down and lands perfectly in his hands. They score a touchdown and that sets Fitz off into beast mode.

For the next 2 hours Fitz dominates on offense. Every pass he throws is right on target and completed. He even runs the ball a few times and scores when his teammates can't get open. The 5 year streak the other team holds comes to an end when the time in the 4th quarter expires. Eli's team is the victor of the game and all the guys immediately attack Fitz in celebration.

* * *

As Arielle was promised, she is spending the day with her mom, grandmas, and aunt. They spend majority of the day walking around the mall. Since Kayla is going to the winter formal in a few weeks, the girls decide to check out dresses first, which becomes a disaster when Kayla finds the perfect dress to wear, but Susan doesn't approve of it.

"I don't see why I can't get it. It's not even expensive and it looks great on me." Kayla sasses.

"I don't care if it's not expensive, it's way too short and if I don't think it's an appropriate dress for you to wear than I know your father definitely won't approve of it, so find another one to wear." Susan replies sternly.

"All of the other dresses are hideous in here." Kayla answers back while crossing her arms defiantly.

"Then we will go look in other stores until you find one that you like." Susan says with finality in her voice.

Kayla rolls her eyes and sighs. They walk out of the store and up to the bench where Olivia, Maya, and Arielle are sitting. Olivia and Maya immediately recognize the disappointed look Kayla has on her face because they've been there plenty of times before. Arielle, who is playing a game on her new iPad mini, looks up and notices there's no dress in Kayla's hands.

"Where's your dress Aunt Kayla?"

"I didn't get it." She mutters.

"Why not?" Arielle asks oblivious to the situation.

"Arielle enough with the questions please." Olivia says.

"But mommy-"

"But mommy nothing." Olivia cuts her off. "I said no more questions."

Olivia looks a Kayla who gives her a grateful look. The girls get up and continue walking, going from store to store. Along the way both Susan and Maya end up getting Arielle a toy against Olivia's wishes of course, since she got a load of presents just last night. Leaving the final clothing store, Kayla again walks out empty handed. Olivia tells Arielle to walk with her grandmas, while she stays back and talks to a clearly upset Kayla.

"Hey Kay you alright?" Olivia softly asks while throwing an arm around her shoulder.

Kayla wipes the few tears that fall from her eyes.

"I just really wanted that dress, there's seriously no other dress in any of the stores in here that even come close to being as beautiful as the one from earlier." Kayla says in a shaky frustrated voice.

Olivia rubs her shoulder as a sign of comfort, "I'll tell you what, I'm going to take you out to get a dress, one that will look radiant on you but also is appropriate for a girl your age. I've been in your shoes so many times but I always found the perfect dress to wear. And after that we can go out to lunch or something but I guarantee you'll find the right dress." She says reassuringly.

"Are you serious, will you really take me dress shopping?"

"Of course. Just call me anytime you're free and want to go ok."

"Ok! Thanks Liv you're the best." Kayla stops walking and gives Olivia a hug.

"You're welcome Kay; you know I'll always have your back. You're like the little sister I never had but always wanted. I know exactly how you're feeling right now because I felt the same way too." Kayla nods and Olivia smiles, "Now tell me about this boy you're going to the winter formal with." Kayla playfully rolls her eyes and slightly blushes.

The rest of the day goes on without any more problems. Kayla is in better spirits all thanks to Olivia and that puts everyone else in better moods. They finish their day off by getting something to eat at the food court and head home.

* * *

"Fitz that was a hell of a game you played out there today." Tom says genuinely proud of the way Fitz played earlier.

The guys are sitting on the bleachers hydrating themselves and cooling off after the game. Eli hands each man their cut from the winning profits. When he gets to Fitz, Fitz politely turns the money down and tells Eli to keep it.

"Yeah man you're a beast." Frankie says clapping Fitz on the back.

Fitz cracks a small smile, "Thanks guys."

"So how long have you been playing football?" Johnny asks grabbing another water bottle from the cooler.

"Since the night I was conceived." Fitz replies blasé.

He notices all the guys and even Eli giving him a confused look.

Fitz sighs and goes into further detail, "What I meant by that is my father used to play football and before that so did my grandfather, so football runs through my veins and it has ever since the night I was conceived."

There's a hint of sadness in his voice, which Eli is the only one to catch on to. He can see Fitz going to that dark and sad place; he once was in 4 years ago.

"So did you play in college?" Hal asks.

"Wel-"Fitz starts to say, but gets cut off by Tom.

"Of course he did. Did you not see the way the kid threw the ball today? You can just tell he's a seasoned quarterback." Tom says boisterously while grabbing Fitz in a playful headlock and ruffles his curly wet hair.

Fitz laughs as he pushes his head from Tom's arms. He's glad that Tom and the other guys are being friendlier to him than they were earlier and wants all of Eli's friends to get along with and like him.

"Actually I didn't play in college." Fitz says internally hoping that the guys don't press on the topic any further.

"What, why not?!" Hal yells unintentionally in Fitz' face.

Fitz backs up a little bit, "I never went to college. I got offered full scholarships for football but life kind of got in the way and I made the decision not to go."

"Why would you do that, couldn't you deal with whatever you did and still went to college?" Frankie asks.

"I could have but my situation was much more complicated than what I lead on to others." Fitz replies with a vague, but still honest answer. Fitz knows the rest of the guys have no idea what he's talking about and he also knows that Eli thinks he's talking about Olivia getting pregnant 4 years ago, but truth is that was just his cover up story and what really happened back then is the reason why he gave up his football career.

The guys sit in silence for a couple of minutes, enjoying the light breeze that is cooling their exhausted and hot bodies.

"So how were you in high school kid?" Johnny asks breaking the silence.

Fitz shrugs, "I was pretty good."

"Oh bullshit! Fitz you're being way too modest. Let me tell you guys something Fitz was amazing. You think he played great today, you should have seen him in high school. Fitz broke every record you could name. He was the number 1 quarterback in the state and number 2 in the country. I'm not even exaggerating because I seen him action plenty of times." Eli states with so much excitement and pride.

Fitz is like the son Eli never had, but always wanted. Eli recognized Fitz the minute he walked into his house when Olivia brought him home for the first time. They immediately hit off and developed a father son relationship. Fitz talked to Eli about everything instead of going to his own father. Eli went to all of Fitz' games and supported him along the way.

Listening to Eli go on and on about Fitz' high school football career, Johnny comes to a realization that he knows Fitz from somewhere, but doesn't remember until now.

"Wait Fitz what did you say your last name was?" Johnny asks.

"Grant."

"Grant." Johnny repeats. "Fitz Grant. Fitz Grant. Fitz Grant." He continues to repeat Fitz' name, testing it out. Fitz and the other guys watch him in curiosity. "Fitz is short for Fitzgerald right?" Johnny finally asks knowing that if he's right it will be the icing on the cake.

Fitz nods, "Well in my case yes but it could also be short for Fitzpatrick."

Johnny eyes grow wide and a huge smile forms on his face as he finally realizes where he knows Fitz from. "No way. There's no way... tell me that I didn't play football with _the _Fitzgerald Grant for 2 hours and not even recognize you."

Fitz doesn't respond, he continues to look at the older man with a questioning look on his face.

Johnny answers his silent question, "I saw you play before in real life and on TV. I used to watch your team play all the time because my nephew was on the team but never got in the game. Eventually I started watching the games just to see you play. I never seen your face before but I knew your name and your game. I can't believe I didn't put 2 and 2 together. You were incredible kid. I always said that that kid Fitzgerald Grant was going places, big places."

"I was supposed to, that was originally the plan but sometimes life steers you in a totally different direction than what you expected." Fitz says truthfully. He looks to Eli hoping his response isn't offensive and Eli gives him an understanding look.

Johnny not knowing how to respond decides to stay quiet, leaving the guys to sit in a somewhat awkward and comfortable silence.

Tom eventually gets tired of sitting around and decides to call it day with the guys, "Well I'm beat, so I'm going to leave now. See you ladies next Sunday." He says waving to the guys as he walks off the bleachers and to his car.

Eli looks at the time on his watch, "Yeah it's getting late I better head home too." He says packing his things in his bag and stands up.

The rest of the guys follow Eli and begin packing their gear in their bags.

"Wait Eli can I talk to you for a moment please?" Fitz asks jogging to catch up with the older man as he just reaches his car.

"Yeah sure Fitz what's up?"

"I um… I don't know when I'll uh… when I do it but when I do I was um… I was wondering if I could uh…" Fitz tries to say, but keeps stumbling over his words and sentences that are incoherent.

"Spit it out." Eli says with a smirk on his face.

"I was wondering if I could ask for Olivia's hand in marriage." Fitz manages to quickly get out in one breath.

Eli looks at Fitz with a blank face. Fitz nervously begins to teeter from one foot to another as he stands under Eli's emotionless gaze. After a minute or so, Eli finally speaks, "No."

Fitz stops his movements and confusingly looks at Eli, "No?" He repeats.

"No as in you already k**no**w the answer to that." Eli answers with a smile slowly forming on his face.

Fitz mirrors his smile, "So that's a yes?" He asks unsurely.

Eli chuckles, "Of course it's a yes. I would say welcome to the family but that would make no sense because you're already a part of my family."

"Thank you Eli for your blessing." Fitz gives his soon to be father-in-law a hug and pulls away. The two men say their goodbyes and Fitz watches Eli drive away before turning and walking to his own car.

As he reaches his car, he notices the middle aged gentleman, who was sitting in the bleachers earlier leaning against it. Fitz walks straight up to the man, "Can I help you with something?"

"You played a great game earlier." The man compliments Fitz while continuing to lean against the side of his car.

"Thanks. Look I don't mean to be rude but who are you?" Fitz straight out asks.

"I'm sorry I'm Jeremiah Davis. And you are?" He asks with an outstretched hand.

Fitz still not knowing who the man is, hesitantly and briefly shakes Jeremiah's hand. "Fitzgerald Grant and it's nice to meet you Mr. Davis. But just knowing your name doesn't tell me who you are or what you want from me preferably." Fitz states honestly.

"I completely agree with you. I work for the New York Giants. Well actually I'm the assistant coach and recruiter for the New York Giants. I came here today as a favor to my good friend who is actually the captain of the other team. I was supposed to be looking at his DB but you kept entrapping me with your talent. I must say you have an incredible insight for the game and the way you play is so smooth and natural.

First of all you have a cannon for an arm but the way you throw the ball… each time its rotation is damn near perfect and each of your passes are accurate but you probably already know all of that. You asked me if you could help me with something and what I wanted from you, but I'm asking you what can I help you with and what can I do for you."

Fitz tries to keep the anger that is forming inside contained. "I didn't come to you, you came to me and honestly you can't anything for me, I don't want anything from you. Now can you please move from in front of my door?" Fitz unlocks his car door and opens it, but stops from getting inside his car when Jeremiah begins to talk again.

"So me offering you a chance to play for the Giants is not helping you or do something for you?" Jeremiah asks sarcastically.

"You want me to play for the Giants?" Fitz asks in disbelief, not buying into this guy's bullshit.

"Well actually it's not that simple but yeah the Giants are in desperate need of a young and athletic but well trained quarterback like yourself. And on top of that you're fast and know how to run the ball. You can see the field perfectly and are just what the Giants need. So what do you say?"

Fitz sighs, "I don't know. I don't understand how you are so quick to recruit me just from watching me play in a meaningless football game. I mean you never seen me in a real game before. No offense but the guys I played with earlier were not much competition for me."

"I know that it may not make any sense to you but I not only saw potential in you on the field, but I couldn't help but overhear the conversation you had with the rest of your teammates. You have the talent and ability to play professional if you want to and put forth the effort."

Fitz slightly nods, "Ok I'll think about it."

Jeremiah smiles brightly, "Great! Hey I have to run now but I would like to continue this conversation, so how about we meet up at let's say… 3 p.m. tomorrow at that Chinese place not too far from here ok?"

"Yeah sounds good." Fitz agrees and shakes Jeremiah's hand again before getting into his car and going home.

* * *

"Hey babe!" Olivia yells when she walks through the front door of their home.

"Hi Livvie." Fitz replies from his spot on the couch in the living room. Hearing Olivia's footsteps coming toward the living room, he quickly closes his laptop and tosses it aside just as she enters the room.

She looks at him and smiles, "Hi."

"Hi." He says returning her smile.

She walks over to where he is sitting and makes herself comfortable in his lap. She wraps her arms around his neck and plants a soft kiss on his lips.

"Mmm what are you up to?" Olivia asks pulling back from their kiss.

"Nothing much just hanging out with good ole Squishers here." Fitz says as he pets Squishy who is sitting next to him on the couch. "Where's Ari?" He asks looking over Olivia's shoulder in search of his little princess.

"She's with my mom." Olivia answers moving off of Fitz' lap and sitting beside with Squishy now in her lap.

"How long will she be over there for?"

"Until sometime tomorrow, she's spending the night with my parents."

"Oh…" Fitz simply says giving Olivia a knowing smirk.

She chuckles and lightly taps his chest, "We'll have time for that later but right now I want to know how your day was."

Fitz shrugs, "It was good."

Olivia raises an eyebrow at him, "Just good?" She asks wanting more information.

Fitz jokingly rolls his eyes, "It was great. Fun. A few of the guys gave me a hard time at first but once they saw my throwing game I had them bowing at my feet."

Olivia laughs, "Wow I haven't seen your cocky side in years. How'd you do today?"

Fitz lights up at her question because he's excited to talk about football and how great it felt to play again, even if it was just a friendly game. "I started off a bit slow but once I got into the rhythm of things, I was unstoppable. Livvie you should've seen, every pass I threw caught and just on the borderline of perfect, even my running game was on point but when was it never right. I know this might sound weird but I've gotten better, at least that's what I think. I throw farther than I did before and I feel like I've gotten faster, which is strange to me, it should be the other way around especially after 4 years of not playing. Don't you think?"

Olivia heart melts as she looks at how bright Fitz' face and eyes are shining. She hasn't seen him this way in a while; the last time was the day Arielle was born.

"Well I'm not too shocked by any of what you told me because you work out and manage to stay in shape."

Fitz smiles and sighs deeply. He so badly wants to tell Olivia about the conversation he had earlier with the recruiter for the Giants, but he hesitates to do so. "I was thinking about maybe playing football again." He says easing his way into the topic.

"I think that'll be fun. You playing with my dad and his buddies every Sunday is not only for you to show off your crazy football skills but for you to also bond more with my dad." She responds completely off about what Fitz is trying to get at.

Fitz looks at her happy face and is immediately at a loss of words. He tries a couple of times to get what he really wants to say off of his chest but can't, so he smiles and changes the subject. "So how was your day with the rest of my girls?" He asks genuinely interested in how her day went.

"It was great. I loved hanging out with the girls. The day was fun but things didn't start off so well." She states resting her head on his shoulder. He wraps an arm around her shoulder and kisses the top of her head.

"Why's that?"

Olivia sighs, "Well for starters both of our mothers each bought Arielle a toy, against my wishes. And your mom wouldn't let Kayla get the dress she wanted to wear to the spring formal because it was entirely too short and inappropriate. We went to every other clothing store in the mall but Kayla didn't like any of the dresses, so she left empty handed. I felt so bad for Kayla especially since I've been in her shoes before."

"Don't feel bad Livvie, my mom was absolutely right to not buy Kayla that slutty dress. Kayla needs to know it's about class not ass." Fitz says sternly. Olivia laughs at Fitz 'comment and how he instantly transforms into the protective older brother.

"Oh please Fitz you shouldn't be talking. I can't even count the number of times you made me wear a sexy dress that was all about showing my ass." She playfully argues back.

"That was different, you were older than 15 and those dresses were classy but did a nice job at showing all of your beautiful curves." Fitz throws right back at her unamused.

Olivia scoffs while shaking her head, "You're unbelievable you know that. Anyway I promised Kayla that I would take her dress shopping and find her the perfect dress, even better than the one she wanted and afterwards we would go to lunch."

"Olivia I want my sister to look beautiful too but at the same time elegant. I want you to send me pictures of whatever dress or dresses you girls pick out. I am dead serious. And don't take any of this the wrong way baby, you know I trust you and your opinion and you're a very sophisticated woman, but I want her looking like the Virgin Mary not Sleeping Booty." Fitz seriously demands.

Olivia fights the urge to laugh, but loses the battle and throws her head back in laughter. "Sleeping Booty? Really Fitz? You couldn't have gone with something a little less vindictive like Stripperella?"

Fitz chuckles a bit, "I thought about that one but Chrisley already used it."

"Really Fitz you need to stop watching that show because you are turning into Todd Chrisley himself."

Fitz huffs, "I am not turning into Todd Chrisley and I don't want my sister's date thinking that he can put his hands in her cookie jar."

"You don't have to worry about that. Kayla's told me all about him and Susan said she really likes him and he's a very respectful boy." Olivia reassures Fitz while stroking the nape of his neck.

"Wow because knowing that my mom approves of him and his respectfulness really puts my mind and gun at ease." Fitz says sarcastically. "Look Liv I think forgot who you're talking to. Remember I was once that respectable boy who smiled in your parents face but as soon as they turned their backs, I had you on yours. And how did that turn out for us?"

"Whatever this discussion is over now go upstairs and get changed into casual clothes."

"Why?" Fitz asks completely thrown off guard.

"Because I am taking you out on a date tonight. Now go upstairs and change." Olivia demands. Fitz obliges and gets up from the couch. Olivia smacks his butt when he walks passed her. He stops and shakes it in her face a few times before continuing on his journey upstairs.

A few minutes later Fitz comes down the stairs in a white t-shirt covered by his navy blue Northface fleece and a pair of dark jeans. He walks over to the front door where Olivia is waiting for him.

"Alright Livvie I'm ready. You want to tell me where you're taking me?" He asks sweetly while helping her put on her jacket.

Olivia smiles a fake, but sweet smile and says, "No you're just going to have to wait until we get there." She pats his cheek and grabs her car keys before walking out the door and to the car. Fitz makes sure that the alarm system is set before following her lead.

After about a long 20 minutes of Fitz pestering Olivia about where they are going, the couple finally arrive at a little amusement place that has batting cages, a go kart track, a miniature golf course, and a few carnival games. Fitz furrows his eyebrows in confusion and somewhat wonder. The place where their date is being held definitely catches Fitz by surprise. Olivia reads the expression on Fitz' face and becomes nervous.

"Do you like it? You don't I can tell you don't. I know you were expecting something different… better. We can leave and maybe catch a movie or go to a nightclub or something like that. How does dinner sound?" Olivia asks timorously while rambling.

Fitz unfurrows his eyebrows and his facial expression softens. He finds her so cute when she is unsure and nervous when trying to please him, like she is right now.

"Baby." Fitz says getting Olivia's attention and also effectively making her shut up. He walks over to her and pecks her lips, afterwards engulfing her in a hug. He pulls back and looks her deep in the eyes, "I love it. You're right I wasn't expecting our date to be here of all places but I love your idea and it's the thought that counts. Besides we haven't been on a date in years and this is something new for us, so yeah I love it. Thank you Livvie." Fitz assures her lovingly as he leans down and places another soft kiss on her lips.

"Awe you're welcome babe. Now come on I want to have a fun night with my man." Olivia says grabbing his arms and dragging him to the ticket booth, where she pays for the both of them to have wrists bands allowing them to do everything in the park unlimitedly for the next two hours.

They start off at the batting cages with Olivia going first. She strikes out every time until Fitz shows her how to bat properly. Once they hit a few balls together, Olivia gets the hang of it and Fitz steps aside to let her continue hitting the rest on her own. It is now Fitz' turn to go and he has no problem sending each ball flying with his powerful hits. At one point he even starts batting with one hand causing Olivia to roll her eyes.

"Show off." Olivia says when Fitz finishes batting and joins her back on the other side of the cage.

"Don't hate me because I looked more beautiful out there." Fitz replies in his best girly voice and dramatically uses his hand to flip the imaginary long hair on his head. Olivia snorts and playfully shoves him. Fitz makes his way back to her side and they interlock their fingers as they walk over to the go kart track.

Olivia gets settled into the pink go kart across from Fitz' blue one. "Ready to burn some rubber Livvie!" Fitz asks in a raised voice, so Olivia can hear him over the loud engines.

"Yeah and get ready to eat my dust!" She calls out from her go kart in the other lane.

Fitz chuckles, "Yeah we'll see about that!"

Olivia wants to respond with another smart comment but before she can, the cones are being removed from each lane and the guy running the track signals for them to go. Olivia and Fitz immediately both take off. Fitz takes the lead with Olivia still right on his tail, but quickly loses it when he lets a young girl maybe 8 or 9 years old pass him, which also gives Olivia the perfect opportunity to pass him too. They ignore everyone else around them because the only thing that matters is which one out of the two of them finishes first.

Unlike Fitz, Olivia doesn't take her first place spot for granted and prevents Fitz' kart and anyone else's from passing hers for the remainder of the race.

"I beat you! I beat you!" Olivia gloats in a sing- song tone and in Fitz' face once they hop out of their go karts and exit that area.

"Yeah yeah whatever I let your ass win." Fitz says rolling his eyes with a slight frown.

Olivia laughs and squishes his cheeks together in her one hand, "Awe nobody likes a sore loser." Fitz gently pushes Olivia's hand away and holds it in his much larger one.

"I'm not a sore loser and nobody likes a sore winner." He counters.

Olivia and Fitz head to the miniature golf course next. Fitz hides the small smirk on his face because he knows their next event will be a walk in the park for him and he is going to crush Olivia on the green. He also knows that Olivia sucks at any sport where a stick and ball is needed, in fact she just sucks at all sports period. As he predicts, Fitz' destroys Olivia at every hole. He mainly gets holes in twos with very few holes in ones and threes. He bends over and roars out in laughter when Olivia sends her golf ball flying way past the hole and into the water.

"Shut up that's not funny Fitzgerald." Olivia pouts crossing her arms.

"That… that was… that was nothing short of terrible." Fitz can barely get out between his fit of laughter.

"You're horrible." She says in pout and folds her arms across her chest like a little kid.

Fitz calms down a bit, so that his laughter is a snicker. His face is red and he wipes the tears that form in his eyes from laughing so hard. "I'm sorry babe but you have to admit that was pretty funny."

"Kiss my ass." Olivia mutters under breath, but not low enough.

"Gladly but I'll save that for later tonight." Fitz smirks down at her.

"I hate you."

"You love me."

They finish the rest of the course and Fitz turns in their score card while Olivia returns their putters back in the bin. After leaving the miniature golf course, Olivia and Fitz get some food from the concession stand and sit at one of the tables. When they finish, Fitz throws out their trash and he and Olivia decide to walk around for a little while longer. Fitz wraps an arm around Olivia's shoulders while she holds his hand dangling from her shoulder.

Olivia stops walking causing Fitz to stop too and looks at a large husky with bright blues eyes hanging from the ceiling on one of the carnival games stand. Fitz notices her eyeing the stuffed animal and drags her over to the stand much to her delight. He asks the man how to play the game and the man replies saying Fitz has to knock down three bottles to get a prize on the wall and five bottles to get one of the large stuff animals hanging from the ceiling.

"Piece of cake." Fitz says confidently picking up one of the balls.

"I wouldn't be so sure." The man responds trying to lower Fitz confidence, but Fitz looks at Olivia knowingly and back at the man with a smug smile on his face.

"Oh you don't want to bet me. " Fitz with throws the ball and knocks down the first bottle with ease. He looks at the man, who still has an unimpressed look on his face. Fitz nods his head in acceptance and goes on to knock down the rest of the bottles.

He once again looks at the man, whose eyes are wide in shock. "I would like the husky right there." Fitz says casually while pointing to the stuffed canine. The man hands Fitz the dog without saying a word, but Fitz and Olivia can see the displeased look on his face. Fitz shrugs it off and hands Olivia the husky.

Olivia tightly hugs the stuffed animal in her arms before loosely wrapping an arm Fitz' neck and gives him a kiss.

"Thank you babe." She says sweetly and pecks his lips again.

"You're quite welcome my love. And thank you for taking me on this wonderful date; I really had an amazing time tonight."

"You're welcome babe. I'm glad you enjoyed yourself. You definitely deserved to be treated out after all you do for not just our family but everyone in general. I know that I don't say this very often but thank Fitz for everything that you do for me and I really appreciate every bit of it. I love you so much babe." Olivia voice cracks as she declares her love and appreciation for Fitz.

The small smile on Fitz' face quickly fades and his face becomes serious. He has one hand in his pocket playing with the cubed object in it. He was not planning on doing it tonight, but after hearing Olivia's declaration of her love for him, he knows this time is as good as any.

Fitz clears his throat and looks deep into Olivia's eyes, grabbing her full attention, making sure each word he speaks reaches her heart and soul. He feels like his heart is about to explode out of his chest from how hard it's pounding and takes a deep breath before he begins speaking to calm his nerves. "Livvie I don't know how to come about this the right way because I wasn't planning on doing it tonight or any time soon to be honest with you, especially at this place. Liv the first time that I ever laid eyes on you, I vowed to make you my mine by all means possible and when I finally got you, I swore that I would never lose you, that you would be mine forever. I promised myself that I would be the best man for you, to cherish you and treat you like the queen you are. Lately I've been feeling like I broke that promise to myself. I feel like I haven't proven myself worthy of you. I know you are in this with me all the way until the end of time but I haven't showed any sign of being fully committed to you and our relationship…"

Fitz slowly gets down on one knee, while still keeping his eyes focused on Olivia's. Olivia gasps and covers her mouth with her hands in surprise as tears start to fall freely from her eyes. People walking by the couple stop and not too long after a little crowd forms around them. Olivia and Fitz ignore the random people surrounding them and remain focused on one another. Fitz reaches in his pocket and pulls out the little navy blue box.

"So Olivia Carolyn Pope, love of my life, my true love, mother of my beautiful baby girl, and last but not least my best friend. Will you do me the honor of becoming my wife? Will you marry me?" Fitz opens the box and reveals his grandmother's ring to Olivia.

Olivia doesn't answer right away because she is still in shock from Fitz' proposal and is enchanted by the beauty of the ring. Finally gaining some self-composure, Olivia is able to fight out a few words, "Oh my gosh Fitz I don't know what to say." She chuckles while sniffling at the same time.

"How about yes!" A voice calls out from the small crowd.

"Say yes honey, that man is fine!" Another voice calls out with almost the rest of the crowd following in suit.

Olivia giggles and nods her head, "Yes. Yes. Yes a million times yes. Fitz I will marry you!" Fitz smiles widely to a point where his cheeks are hurting, but he doesn't care because Olivia said yes to his proposal. He removes the ring from the box and places it on Olivia's finger. Fitz stands up and his lips immediately crash into hers. They pull apart and he hugs Olivia, lifting and spinning her around while the crowd cheers in the background.

When Fitz finally puts her down Olivia pulls back and says simply, "Take me home."

**Author's Note: Ok don't kill me I'm ending it here because it is a good place to stop, but the night's not over yet and I promise there will be a sexy time for the newly engaged couple next chapter. School has just started back up and is already kicking my ass, so I'll try to update all my stories as soon as I get the chance. I hope you enjoyed!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Ok I knew how I wanted this chapter to go, but I couldn't find the right words. I don't really like the way everything flows, but I wanted to get this chapter up tonight so I hope you enjoy! **

After a few failed attempts, Fitz is finally able to get the key in the lock and successfully opens the front door to their house while keeping his lips connected to Olivia's. He walks them into the house never breaking their kiss and kicks the door closed with his foot. Olivia pushes Fitz up against the door and attacks his neck with kisses. She can feel Fitz smirk at her unexpected action; she knows how much it turns him on when she's the aggressor. Olivia unzips his fleece and pushes it off his shoulders, allowing it to fall on the floor.

She reaches for the hem of his shirt, but he swats her hands away. Olivia tries again and again Fitz swats her hands away. He gently grabs her shoulders and peels his lips away from hers. "Babe?" Olivia furrows her eyebrows, questioning why Fitz is stopping.

"Livvie we have always been doing things fast since the day we met. We have our entire lives to go fast. Right now I want to take things slow. I'm going to take you upstairs, lay you down in our bed and make the sweetest of love to you slowly." Fitz declares as he takes her left hand in his right and walks up the stairs with Olivia right behind him.

Olivia walks into their bedroom first and awkwardly stands in the middle of the room. Fitz closes their door and slowly saunters toward her. He smiles at how adorable she looks when she's nervous. When Fitz is standing right in front of Olivia, he wraps his arms around her waist and pulls her body into his. Olivia immediately relaxes in his touch and wraps her arms around his neck. Fitz leans down and lightly grazes his lips against Olivia's.

He lets his lips linger barely touching hers. Olivia needing more, grabs the nape of Fitz' neck and crashes her lips on his. Their kiss is slow and tender and becomes more passionate when their tongues take refuge in the other's mouth. Fitz picks Olivia up in his arms and walks over to their bed where he gently lays her down. They continue to kiss until oxygen is desperately needed and are forced to pull apart to catch their breaths.

Fitz sits up on his knees and stares down at Olivia. Olivia struggles to keep eye contact with him when there is a large tent pitching in his pants. Fitz grabs the hem of his shirt and pulls it over his head, letting it fall to the floor. Olivia runs her hands up and down his perfectly sculpted abdomen and muscular chest as Fitz rubs her thighs lying on either side of his waist.

"Sit up." Fitz demands softly.

Olivia complies and sits up. Fitz unbuttons her light jacket and throws it somewhere off the bed, then moves on to take her shirt off and unsnap her bra. He climbs off the bed, so that he is now standing at the foot of it. Fitz leans over as his hands travel to the button on her pants, slowly unbuttoning them and pulling them off along with her panties, so she is completely naked. He gets back on the bed, hovering over Olivia. He smiles down at her brushing a few strands out of her face, allowing himself to see her full beauty.

Fitz briefly kisses her lips and then moves down to kiss her chest, paying special attention to each of her perfectly shaped chocolate mounds. He continues his expedition down her body leaving loving kisses in each territory his lips come in contact with. Once he is done worshiping her body, he finally gets to the one area Olivia desires him most. He looks up at her as he slowly lowers his head between her legs. Fitz throws her legs over his shoulders.

He places an open mouth kiss on her sensitive button and smiles when she gasps. Fitz licks his way down to her core where he hardens his tongue and skillfully begins penetrating her walls. The sounds Olivia make are music to Fitz' ears as he continues to feast on her warm center. She grabs a fistful of his hair pushing his head down further into her. Fitz runs his tongue up and down Olivia's slit and circles her clit where he alternates between licking and sucking it. Olivia can't take anymore and she audibly screams as her orgasm takes over her body.

Fitz kisses his way back up her body. He places a small kiss on her lips and watches her come down from her high. Fitz gently brushes her cheeks with the back of his hand waiting for her eyes to open. Olivia smiles up at him.

"Hi." He says softly.

"Hi."

Fitz leans down and kisses Olivia's lips. He slips his tongue into her mouth letting her taste herself on him. Olivia unbuckles his belt and unbuttons his pants, pushing them down along with his boxers. Fitz grabs his painfully erect member and aligns himself at her dripping wet center. He slowly inches his way inside of her until he fills her up to the hilt. They both groan at the feeling of their bodies connecting.

Fitz slowly begins thrusting in and out of her. His strokes are deep and slow, but still so powerful. He swivels his hips in a slow circular motion making sure to hit her spot. The tortuously slow pace he is moving at drives Olivia insane. She grabs his ass and pushes him deeper. Fitz grabs both of her hands and pins them above her head. He intertwines their fingers as he continues to gradually pump into her.

Looking down at Olivia, Fitz enjoys every expression her face makes. He loves the way her eyebrows furrow, the way her eyes are tightly closed shut, the way her nose scrunches, and the sexiest of all the way she bites her bottom lip. He somehow overcomes the nearly impossible urge to speed up his movements. He can feel Olivia's close by the way her walls clench around him. Fitz stops moving which causes Olivia's eyes to fly open. She glares at him, but he ignores her murdering look and flips them over, so that she is now on top straddling him.

Olivia starts riding him at a leisurely steady pace. Fitz sits up and wraps his arms around her body hugging her body to his and Olivia wraps hers around his neck. Olivia throws her head back and Fitz sucks on her exposed neck. He gently bites down on it and sucks away the sting while she quickens her speed. Fitz thrusts his hips up to match the rhythm in which Olivia is riding him. When Olivia rises up, Fitz grabs her ass and pulls her up so only his tip is inside her opening.

Without warning he slams her back to down onto him. He continues to lift Olivia up and slams her back down until she comes screaming his name. Fitz comes shortly after shooting his seed deep inside her channel. He falls back onto the bed taking Olivia with him. Olivia lies sprawled out on top of him. She uses the little energy has left to roll off of Fitz and snuggles into his side.

She looks up at Fitz who now has his eyes closed. She knows he's not sleeping because he's rubbing her arm. "I love you Fitzgerald Thomas Grant III." Olivia declares softly.

Fitz opens one of his eyes and looks over at her. "And I love you Olivia Carolyn Pope." He lowers his head and kisses her lips. When they pull back, they readjust their position, so that Olivia's back is pressed up against Fitz' front. Not too long after they fall into a comfortable sleep.

* * *

Olivia squints as the sunlight shines through the window and directly in her sleep filled eyes. She turns over to shield her eyes from the bright light and ends up running into a hard object- a still sleeping Fitz. Olivia sits up against the headboard and stares down at him. She smiles at how cute he looks when he's sleeping and the way his body is so relaxed. She watches his chest rise and fall while listening to his soft snores.

Olivia gently strokes his slightly disheveled curls, loving the way her fingers easily glide through their softness. She is a little surprised that Fitz doesn't wake up or at least stir. Usually the slightest touch or sound wakes him right up unless he is overly exhausted. _I definitely did a number on him last night. _Olivia smiles as last night's events start flooding in her mind. She holds out her left hand and looks at the beautiful engagement ring Fitz had given her the night before.

"I'm glad you like." Fitz says in a sleepy voice while he stares up at his stunning bride to be. Olivia jumps a little.

"Fitz! Oh my god, you scared me." Olivia states as she holds her chest. Fitz pushes himself up, so that his back is resting against the headboard next to Olivia and kisses her temple. "How long have you've been up."

Fitz yawns, "Not long. I kept feeling something on my head and then I woke up to find you staring at your ring and petting me."

Olivia chuckles and playfully shoves his shoulder, "I was not petting you. I was stroking your messy hair." She retorts.

"Uh huh it's the same thing." Fitz counters.

"No it's not." Olivia fires back.

"Yes it is." Fitz says back amused at the little banter they have going on.

"No it's no- ok you know what, the point is you're awake now. I'm going to make breakfast, so what do you want to eat?" Olivia asks putting on her robe and slippers.

"You." He says simply.

Olivia blushes and can't control the smile that forms on her face. She turns to face Fitz who now has both his arms folded behind his head, showing off his muscular biceps. She places a hand on her hip, "Aren't you still worn out from last night and don't you have work today?"

Fitz smirks, "No and no, although I was a victim of being Poped, I am still surprisingly ready to go for another round or two or three. And I already called Cy and told him I'm not coming in today."

Olivia rolls her eyes, "You're insatiable."

"You didn't seem to mind last night or the night before that or two nights before or how about-"

"Ok babe I get it." Olivia says interrupting him.

"Good now take off that robe and get back in bed."

"Fitz we have to be leaving to go to my parents' house soon. I still need to make us breakfast and get ready and so do you." Olivia says firmly.

Fitz refusing to take no for an answer, gets out of bed completely naked and walks over to Olivia. She watches as his erect penis swings in between his legs with each step he takes. Olivia slowly backs away from him when he starts to get closer. Fitz keeps walking until Olivia's back hits the wall where he corners her there with a hand pressed against it on both sides of her head.

Fitz leans down and whispers in her ear, "I think we have a little time to waste."

With that being said, Fitz unties her robe to reveal the most stunning body he's ever seen. He pushes it off her shoulders a little bit and lets it fall to the floor, pooling around her feet. Fitz pecks her soft lips and wraps one of Olivia's legs around his waist. He holds himself in place at the entrance of her center and vigorously thrusts inside of her. They spend the next 2 hours reaffirming their love.

* * *

After their morning rendezvous, Olivia and Fitz finally get ready and leave to go to her parents' house. They arrive there at a quarter to 1 and walk to the door hand in hand. Olivia rings the doorbell and a few seconds later Maya opens the door.

"It's about time you two showed up." She says giving them a look and they both blush. Maya steps aside so they can enter the house. "You guys are too much."

"We would have been here sooner but… it's his fault." Olivia says not being able to come up with a valid excuse, so she decides to blame Fitz who just goes with it.

"Liv's right it is my fault." Fitz defends her while wrapping his arms around her waist and nuzzling his face in her neck.

Maya shakes her head, "Mm mm mm. Fitz do not let Olivia blame you for everything, it does take two to tango and I'm sure Olivia wasn't complaining at the time."

"Mom!" Olivia buries her face in her hands with embarrassment as Fitz nearly topples over in laughter.

"Is that my baby girl I hear?" Eli asks coming from the down the hall.

"Hi daddy." She breaks Fitz' loose grip on her and walks over to her father giving him a hug.

"Hello darling." He greets her and plants a kiss on her forehead before pulling back and walking over to Fitz. "There's the man, Fitz how are you son? How are you feeling?" He gives Fitz a warm hug, which Olivia is slightly jealous of.

"I'm good. No complaints here." Fitz replies.

"That's good. Hey there's a game on now let's go watch it." Eli claps Fitz' shoulder and grabs it, leading him to the living room.

"Hold on where's my baby?" Olivia asks her parents.

"I'm right here." Fitz answers with a smirk.

Olivia sucks her teeth, "I meant my other baby Fitz."

"Oh nana's taking a nap in your room. We put here down almost 2 hours ago so I think she'll be up any minute if you and Fitz want to go wake her up." Maya says.

"Ok thanks again for watching her last night. Babe are you coming with me to wake Arielle up or are you going with my dad to watch the game?" Olivia asks.

"Uh yeah I'll go with you." Fitz turns to Eli, "I'll be right back."

Olivia and Fitz walk up the stairs and head down the hallway where Olivia's bedroom is. She opens the door to find her 3 year old sleeping on the center of the bed with a pink teddy bear squeezed tightly in the embrace of her arms.

"Babe look." Olivia whispers and grabs his hand leading them over to the bed. "She's cuddling with the bear you gave me on our very first Valentine's Day. Do you remember?"

Fitz throws his arm over Olivia's shoulders and kisses the top of her head, "Of course I remember but that wasn't all I gave you that day." Fitz whispers in her ear.

Olivia smiles up at him and gently sits on the bed next to her sleeping daughter. Fitz walks around to the other side of the bed and sits down on it. They look at each other, silently communicating on who will wake the snoozing princess up. Olivia nods indicating for Fitz to do it. He places a hand on the arm that wasn't pinned under Arielle's body and lightly shakes her. He whispers her name in her ear encouraging her to slip out of her slumber.

Olivia and Fitz watch as their little toddler slowly opens her eyes. Arielle's blue ones immediately meet her daddy's blue ones. The energy she was previous lacking instantly comes back in her body and her face brightens up with a smile spreading across it from ear to ear. She pops up and flings herself into Fitz awaiting arms.

"Hi daddy!" She wraps her arms around his neck and squeezes tightly giving him a hug. Fitz hugs her back. You would think by the way they hugged each other that they hadn't seen one other in months when they were only apart for barely 24 hours.

"Hi pretty girl. I missed you." Fitz says kissing her forehead.

"I missed you too daddy. Hi mommy." Arielle slips out of Fitz' embrace and crawls over to Olivia.

"Hi baby. How was your nap?"

"Really good."

"Well that's really good. Did you have a good time with grandma and grandpa last night?"

"Yes."

"Yeah? What did you guys do?" Olivia asks amusingly and looks at Fitz who wears the same expression on his face. He scoots over some, so that he is closer to his girls.

"I helped grandma make brownies." Arielle says excitedly.

"Yum. I am definitely going to have a couple of those." Fitz licks his lips and rubs his stomach animatedly which causes Arielle to giggle.

"What else did you, grandma, and grandpa do?" Olivia asks kissing her daughter's curly head. Arielle scoots off her mother's lap and begins jumping on the bed.

"We watched movies and played on my iPad and the Wii and grandpa had a tea party with me."

"Wow sounds like you guys had a fun night." Olivia responds.

"Yeah in fact let's hurry and get back downstairs so we can continue the fun with them. You beautiful girls can bond with Maya over whatever it is girls do and I can go finish watching the game with Eli." Fitz grabs Arielle from off the bed and stands up. Olivia moves off of the bed following Fitz and Arielle downstairs.

* * *

"So how was your date with Fitz last night?" Maya asks as she slices the turkey sandwiches they were having for lunch in half.

"It was so much fun. We had a blast." Olivia replies while setting the table.

"What did you guys end up doing? A movie or a romantic dinner?" Maya places the plate where all of the sandwiches are lying on the table.

"Actually I took Fitz to a go kart joint that also had batting cages and a mini golf course. It was such a perfect date. I'm glad Fitz enjoyed himself. I originally thought of a movie or dinner but those are common dates and I wanted to do something different with him you know." Olivia said placing two sandwiches on Arielle's plate.

"I would ask how the rest of the night went but I'm not sure it ended."

Olivia laughs, "I'll have you know that it did end at some point in the night. But the rest of our night was good too. We finished our date off with Fitz winning me a stuffed husky and…"

* * *

Eli and Fitz are sitting in the den watching the Philadelphia Eagles vs the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Steelers are down by 14 points and has possession of the ball. The ball is snapped to Ben Roethlisberger. They watch as he struggles to find an open receiver. Roethlisberger starts to panic when a linebacker successfully gets passed the blockers and charges at him. He runs away from the Eagles' linebacker. Realizing that he has nowhere to go or no one to throw to, he ends up throwing the football in the direction of one of his receivers praying they catch it.

Someone catches it, but it's not any of the Steelers' receivers. Instead the pass is intercepted by the starting cornerback for the Eagles, Nolan Carroll. On top of the interception, the rest of the Steelers' players on the field fail to tackle Nolan and he runs for a 68 yard touchdown.

"Who the hell was he passing the ball to?!" Eli yells as the TV screen shows the kicker for the Eagles kicking a field goal which is successful.

Fitz takes a sip of his beer, "That was awful."

"I don't understand why he didn't just run the ball. Isn't that what you would have done?" Eli asks.

"I mean I would have made the attempt to run the ball but what he did wasn't entirely wrong. Throwing the ball away is a part of football; it's understandable but you have to know how to do it. And frankly I'm a little disappointed that a quarterback as seasoned as Roethlisberger made such a rookie mistake. He should have thrown a pass to the ground, so that chances of an interception happening would be slim to none." Fitz replies.

Eli smiles, "See this is the reason why you should be out there playing and giving the other teams a run for their money."

Fitz looks at his soon to be father-in-law and contemplates on whether or not he should tell Eli about his meeting in 2 hours. Fitz goes with his instincts and tells Eli about the talk he had with scout yesterday, "Can I tell you something?"

"Sure." Eli puts the TV on mute and gives his full attention to Fitz.

"Do you remember a man sitting in the bleachers at the field yesterday?"

Eli thinks back to the day before, "Yeah."

Fitz continues, "Well after you left I walked to my car and he was leaning against it. I asked him if I could help him with something and he said no but he could help me. Long story short his name is Jeremiah Davis and he's a Scout for the Giants. He said he liked the way I played and asked me to meet him today at the Chinese restaurant not too far from the field."

"Fitz that's great! Did you tell Liv yet?"

"No. I don't want to tell her something that might not happen. I want to see how this meeting goes before I talk to anyone else about it. I came to you first because I wanted to ask you if you wouldn't mind coming with me to the meeting, you know kind of like moral support."

"Of course I will. Thank you for feeling comfortable enough to ask me." Eli says truly touched that Fitz comes to him for practically anything.

"Well you're like a father figure to me. Ever since that night football has been a sensitive topic for Liv and me. Honestly I never thought I would play again, it never even crossed my mind these last few years. Liv and I have been happy and I don't want to put a strain in our relationship because of football again. I've been down that road before."

"I know you have."

Just as Eli unmutes the TV, he hears a high pitched squeal coming from the kitchen. He and Fitz look at each other before rushing into the kitchen where they find Maya holding Olivia's left hand in both of hers.

"Maya what on earth is wrong with you?" Eli asks his wife watching a string of happy tears roll down her cheeks.

"Fit…fina… Li… and they… ring...beauti…look." Maya drags Olivia over to Eli and shows him the engagement ring on her left ring finger.

Eli's eyes widen like saucers when he realizes what his wife was trying to say. "Oh my goodness. He didn't."

"He did." Maya responds finally able to get out complete words.

"He didn't"

"He did." Olivia and Fitz say in unison causing them to laugh.

"What did he do grandma?" Arielle who leaves her spot from the table and joins the adults asks.

Maya picks her granddaughter up," Daddy proposed to mommy. They're going to get married."

"Yay! Does mommy get to wear a pretty dress?"

"Yes baby mommy does get to wear a pretty dress. I cannot believe my baby girl is getting married. Did you guys decide if you're going to have a wedding or get married at the courthouse? I think a spring wedding would be perfect with the both of you wearing white. You guys look amazing in white by the way. We need to call-"

"Whoa whoa mom slow down, Fitz just proposed last night and we didn't even get a chance to discuss our wedding plans yet."

"I'm sorry, I'm just so excited!"

"I know so are we." Olivia can't contain the smile that appears on her face when she looks at Fitz who winks at her and flashes his signature lopsided grin.

* * *

After their mini celebration, Fitz and Eli make up the excuse that they are going to hang out with a few of the guys when in reality they are going to the meeting with the scout. When they arrive at the Chinese restaurant it's exactly . on the dot and the scout is already there patiently waiting.

"Fitz I'm glad you could make." He shakes Fitz' hand.

"Yeah I hope we didn't keep you waiting too long. This is my fiancé's father Eli Pope. I hope you don't mind him being here. He's like a father to me and I wanted him to come."

"No it's not a problem at all. It's nice to meet you." Jeremiah says shaking Eli's hand.

"You too." Eli replies with a friendly smile.

The trio sits down in their chairs and jump right to business, but not before ordering their drinks first.

"So Fitz I was looking at some film I found of you and my god you were incredible. Dude the way you played was… flawless."

Fitz smiles at the compliment, "Thank you that means a lot."

"No problem. I talked to Tom Coughlin, the Giants head coach and told him about you. I sent some footage to him of you and he liked what he saw. He sees a lot of potential in you as do I, that's why I want to offer you a chance to play for the Giants. Now I'm not saying that you're on the team or anything but there are tryouts in March and I want you to attend them."

"March? That's 4 months from now." Eli points out.

"I know. 4 months is definitely more than enough time for Fitz to get in shape. He barely warmed up yesterday and looked how well he played. Fitz I know you are NFL material but you have to show the rest of the coaches that." Jeremiah says and lays a paper down on the table sliding it over to Fitz.

"What's this?" Fitz questions reading over the paper.

"It's has all the information you need for tryouts. You can cross some stuff out though like the part where it says you need to pay $275 to try out, forget that I'll be paying for you."

Fitz shakes his head, "I can't allow you to do that."

Jeremiah waves him off, "Nonsense. I came to you and it would be unfair of me to ask you to pay without a guarantee you'll make the team."

Fitz doesn't feel comfortable about having another man pay for him even if his intentions are good. He doesn't want anyone handing him things or making it easy for him. And the last thing he wants to do is owe this guy if things don't turn out well. "Thanks for the offer but I really can't allow you to do that." He says politely declining the offer again.

"Well my offer still stands if you change your mind. But moving forward, I want to know a little about you." Jeremiah says changing the subject. He wants to touch upon some personal topics to figure out what kind of man Fitz is.

"I don't where to start." Fitz admits sheepishly.

"How about you start off by telling me your age and go on from there."

"Ok I'm almost 23 years old and I work for the NYPD. I was born and raised in Queens but now I live in Staten Island with my fiancé and our 3 year old daughter. Uh I have been playing football for as long as I could remember. In fact I can't think of time I didn't play football before a couple of years ago."

"I'm curious to know why you stopped playing football. I read articles on you in newspapers and magazines. It was clear that you were headed to the pros and all of sudden you just stopped. Why? If you don't mind me asking"

This is the question that Fitz dreads the most. Everyone who knows about his history in football asks this question every time and every time he gives the same answer, "I was dealing with a few personal issues at the time and I had to put football aside to focus on the more important things that were going on in my life."

"Ok I respect that." Jeremiah goes on to ask Fitz a few more questions about his personal life before he receives a call and has to leave. They exchange their contact information. Jeremiah gets up and shakes their hand before leaving. Fitz and Eli also stand up and see Jeremiah out.

"Fitz it was good talking to you. I hope you do decide to tryout and remember to call me when you do make your decision. Eli it was a pleasure meeting you. I hope you gentlemen enjoy your meals."

"Thank you." Fitz replies for the both of them.

He and Eli spend the next 20 minutes talking and finishing their meals before heading back to the house. They join their girls who are snuggled up in the den watching movies. When Arielle starts nodding off, Fitz and Olivia decide to call it a night too and go upstairs to her bedroom. Since Olivia and Arielle are already in their pajamas, they get settled in. Fitz strips down to his boxers and joins them under the covers. He gives each of the girls in his life a kiss before he dozes off into own deep slumber.

**Author's Note: Next chapter things are going to pick up a bit. I think there's going to be a time jump, I'm not sure yet. But I hope you enjoyed!**


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